District Restructuring Plan 2024

February 13th, 2024 /
Caleb Price /
Community Essentials Features, News, Student Essentials Features, Updates/Announcements

Rationale

In meeting with principals, faculties, and district leadership over the past six months, common themes have emerged. One request from schools is to ensure that our district office personnel are out in schools frequently and that they understand the role that they play in supporting schools rather than giving directives. A second request is that more resources be allocated at the school level for instructional and behavioral support. The third request is that we make the chain of command and communication clear so that schools are not receiving mixed messages depending on the department or director. We hope that by doing this it will break down the silos of our district and ensure that all departments understand their role and the ways in which they interact with and support our schools. Our restructuring of the district seeks to address these three main issues.

As a smaller school district, we need to capitalize on our ability to respond to the needs of our schools and students in a more timely manner and in a more effective way.

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Process

The restructuring of an organization takes time and will require two to three different phases. We understand the need for schools to know when they can begin hiring and how much FTE is available to them as they plan for next year. We have secured a timeline that we believe is reasonable and will allow schools to remain competitive with surrounding districts as we plan for the 2024-2025 school year.

It is important to note that as we restructure, the pay and benefits for all employees are held harmless on their base salary, and we will secure a position for every single employee. We know that change brings angst and concern, and we will do our best to ensure that we have the right people in the right positions and that we create an opportunity for every employee to be successful.

The new position may have different responsibilities and/or levels of focus, but the positions will be in alignment with the licensing and/or skill set of the employee. For example, we would not move a district director with an educational license to a clerical position. A district director with an educational license would remain in an educator role where their license would be utilized.

When we could, we offered choices for individuals so that they could land where they best saw themselves. However, the guiding point of our decision-making was to ensure that we had the right individuals who are willing to embrace a different vision of serving our schools, principals, and teachers more effectively in the right spaces.

Phase One

The first phase of this restructure involves realigning our district office. Most of these changes will be finished by February 27, 2024. Here is a directory of the primary changes. Use the links below to jump directly to specific sections.

Cabinet Restructure
Elementary Education Restructure
Secondary Education Restructure
Teaching and Learning Restructure
Title I/Title III Restructure
School Support Restructure
Student Services Restructure
Special Education Restructure
Human Resources Restructure

Cabinet Restructure

- There will be five main components of Cabinet instead of seven: Superintendent, Business Administrator, Deputy Superintendent over School Support, Assistant Superintendent over Elementary Education, Assistant Superintendent over Secondary Education, and the Director of Public Relations & Communication.
- The School Leadership Team will specifically be comprised of the Superintendent, Deputy Superintendent, and Assistant Superintendents of Elementary and Secondary Education.
- Teaching and Learning and Student Services were their own entities under Cabinet. This has shifted. Teaching and Learning will now be under either Elementary or Secondary Education, and Student Services will be under School Support. This is an attempt to mitigate problems that occurred with each department believing they had an equal say in giving directives to principals. All directives to principals will come from either the Assistant Superintendent over Elementary Education or the Assistant Superintendent over Secondary Education.

Elementary Education Restructure

Jarod Sites will continue to serve as the Assistant Superintendent over Elementary Education and will continue to supervise all elementary principals and schools.
The new Elementary Director of Teaching and Learning will be Judy Rose, and she will report directly to Jarod Sites.
The Title I/Title III Department will fall under Elementary Education.
The facilitator positions will be changed at the elementary school level to create consistency of support for all schools. Individuals who currently serve in this capacity will have the opportunity to apply for assistant principal positions if they have administrative licenses or they may apply for instructional coaching positions. The job requirements of the facilitator will now be absorbed into the full-time instructional coaching position.
Those serving as Title I coordinators will continue to serve in this capacity unless they choose to apply for other positions. These positions will be filled as needed under our current guidelines.
All Title I elementary schools will be provided the following supports:
- Principal
- Assistant Principal
- Title I Coordinator
- Full-time instructional coach
All non-Title I elementary schools with more than 550 students will be provided the following supports:
- Principal
- Assistant Principal
- Full-time instructional coach
All non-Title I elementary schools with fewer than 550 students (Canyon Crest and Rock Canyon) will be provided the following supports:
- Principal
- Assistant Principal Intern
- Full-time instructional coach
Positions for assistant principals and principals (in case some of our current principals apply for and receive positions at the director or assistant director level) will be opened on February 14, 2024. Interviews for these positions will take place on February 22nd and 23rd.
Under elementary education, we will likely need to have a coordinator for extended learning opportunities that will oversee our after school programming at the Title I schools as well as Camp Big Springs. This position will be put in place at a later time, but for now, Camp Big Springs will be run under the model that has been utilized in the past.

Secondary Leadership

Darrell Jensen will continue to serve as the Assistant Superintendent over Secondary Education and will continue to supervise all secondary principals and schools and athletics.
The new Secondary Director of Teaching and Learning will be Doug Finch, and he will report directly to Darrell Jensen.
The Director of Research and Assessment, Nate Mitchell, will fall under Secondary Education but will continue to support all schools. The goal is to have him work closely with the Secondary Director of Teaching and Learning, particularly as we are trying to streamline the data that are available to our secondary principals and teachers as we work to improve instruction.
The Director of Career and Technical Education, Clay Bingham, will continue to report to Darrell Jensen, as most of the work with CTE occurs at the secondary level.
A new position, the Director of Special Programs, will be created and opened to internal applicants only on February 14, 2024. This individual must have significant administrative experience and will oversee credit recovery, postsecondary options, counselors, adult education, community education, eschool, summer school opportunities for secondary students, and Slate Mountain. We need clarity for 7-12 students and families as to all the opportunities that are provided for students as we prepare them for successful postsecondary outcomes.
The positions of PBIS Coordinators at the middle school and the Deans of Students at the high schools will be eliminated and replaced with full assistant principal positions. These individuals will be encouraged to apply for Assistant Principal openings at the middle and high school levels.
All middle schools will be given the following supports:
- Principal
- Two Assistant Principals
- At least one full-time instructional coach
All high schools will be given the following supports:
- Principal
- Four Assistant Principals
- At least one full-time instructional coach
Positions for assistant principals and principals (in case some of our current principals apply for and receive positions at the director or assistant director level) will be opened on February 14, 2024. Interviews for these positions will take place on February 22nd and 23rd.

Teaching and Learning Restructure

Instead of having an Assistant Superintendent over Teaching and Learning with four additional directors, we are consolidating this department to streamline it more effectively with the needs of elementary and secondary education. We will have an Elementary Director of Teaching and Learning, Judy Rose, and a Secondary Director of Teaching and Learning, Doug Finch.
The Elementary and Secondary Teaching and Learning Directors will have a set of four specialists that will work with specific subject areas or grade levels and will support and train instructional coaches at the school level. We will work with the directors to determine the areas that are of the greatest need. These positions will be opened on February 14, 2024. Those who have served in this capacity in the past will need to apply and interview for these positions. These positions will be opened to internal candidates (within the district) only, but anyone who believes they meet the qualifications can apply. These applications will then be screened and interviews will be held. This process will take some time, so it is likely that these individuals will not be in place until the very end of February.
On February 14, 2024, we will also open 13 elementary instructional coaching positions and 5 secondary instructional coaching positions. These individuals will be assigned to a specific school to mentor not only interns and student teachers but to support all teachers within the school. They will be supervised by their principals, but they will be trained by the Elementary and Secondary Teaching and Learning Directors and specialists. We need to ensure that we have consistency across the district in our metrics and the best ways to improve our instruction. Currently, our coaches are often assigned to several schools or they are only given one or two periods to coach. We need a districtwide model for coaching to ensure that as teachers receive professional learning, they have the right supports within the school to continue to mentor and develop their skill set. The coach will work closely with principals to determine the priorities for the school, and Teaching and Learning will work with principals to ensure that they are providing what schools need. These positions will take the place of the traditional facilitator roles at the schools. Principals may choose to use their FTE to continue to have additional coaches in the building, but it will be an expectation that these individuals are trained by Teaching and Learning so that our teachers are not getting mixed messages as to what our instructional priorities should be. The principals and School Leadership Teams will determine the priorities of the school, and these coaches will support the principal in aligning instructional priorities with the goals of the school’s improvement plan. These positions are for internal applicants only (PCSD teachers only), and they are not reserved exclusively for current coaches. Other individuals interested in coaching will have the opportunity to apply. Again, we are looking for the most qualified individuals who can provide the support in the school for our teachers. Those that are not chosen as coaches will still be guaranteed a teaching position, and again, their base salary will be held harmless. Our goal is to ensure that these coaching positions are likely only for 2-3 years, as we do not want individuals to become far removed from the work of our classroom teachers.
Nate Mitchell, the Director of Research and Assessment, will report to the Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Education but will continue to support all schools and departments.
There will no longer be a Director of Professional Development. Karen Brock who currently serves in this capacity will be moved to an elementary school principal position for the 2024-2025 school year. This assignment will be announced at the February 27, 2024 board meeting.
We will no longer have a Director of Innovative Learning. Instead, we will create a specialist position in Teaching and Learning that will facilitate and support the great work that Suzy Cox started for our district.
We will no longer have a separate Director of Curriculum. The specialists and the Elementary and Secondary Directors of Teaching and Learning will oversee the adoption of curricular materials.

Title I/Title III Restructure

The Title I/Title III Department will be renamed either the Department of Access and Opportunity or the Department of School Improvement. The purpose of this shift is so that we can focus on supports for students from low income families, students who are immigrants, Native American students, and other groups that are often underrepresented and need specific levels of advocacy and support. Michelle Eldredge currently serves as the Title I/Title III Director and will continue to serve as the Director of this department.
This department will be placed under the Assistant Superintendent of Elementary Education because so much of the support does fall within our Title I schools, but Michelle and her team will continue to support our K-12 system. Because she will be working closely with administrators, it is important to have this department under School Leadership so that they work in collaboration with one another as we provide resources to teachers for our students who need additional support.
Because this department will now entail some services that used to be under Student Services, there will be a change in supervisors. We will work with these individuals as we seek to streamline our services and supports across the district.

School Support Restructure

The Deputy Superintendent, Jason Cox, will oversee departments that provide school support. These departments include Student Services, Special Education, and Human Resources.

Student Services Restructure

Instead of having an Assistant Superintendent over Student Services, with a Director and Assistant Directors, we will consolidate this department and have a Director that reports directly to the Deputy Superintendent, as this is a department of school support. This new Director of Student Services will be Jason Garrison. We will post an opening for the Assistant Director position on February 14, 2024.
The Foundation will be placed more directly under our Public Relations and Communications Department. More information will come about this assignment, as we will likely assign an administrative assistant to support this work.
Title VI, which supports our Native American students and families, Migrant Education services, and language services for parents and families will be moved to the Department of Access of Opportunity or School Improvement (formerly known as Title I/Title III).
School safety, social workers, PBIS coaches, school nurses, and School Resource Officers will all remain under Student Services. Our number of PBIS coaches will be reduced, and these individuals will serve more as behavior specialists in the schools for Tier 2 behavior supports, as our instructional coaches need to be more proactively involved in all things related to Tier 1, including behavior.

Special Education Restructure

Instead of having a Director of Special Education with two Assistant Directors, this department will be consolidated to include a Director and one Assistant Director. The Director of Special Education currently reports to the Deputy Superintendent and will continue to do so because Special Education is a department that provides support to the schools. Suraj Syal will continue as the Director of Special Education.
Special Education currently has two Assistant Directors. Because we are consolidating to one Assistant Director position, we will open the Assistant Director position on February 14, 2024. The current Assistant Directors may apply for this position as well as any other internal candidates within our district as long as they have an administrative license and related experience. If either of the current Assistant Directors are not chosen for this position, positions as assistant principals will be provided for these individuals.

Human Resources Restructure

Instead of having two Directors of Human Resources, this department will have a Director and an Assistant Director. Rebecca Rogers will continue to serve as the Director of Human Resources and oversee our certificated employees. Boyd McAffee will serve as the Assistant Director of Human Resources and oversee our classified employees and teacher licensure. Both individuals will continue to report to Jason Cox, the Deputy Superintendent.
Benefits and Insurance will continue to fall under Human Resources.