Explorer Academy

School Strategy Map

Map Name: 2025-2026 Explorer Academy Continuous Improvement Plan
Time Period: 6/1/2025 - 5/31/2026
Vision

Fargo Public Schools is committed to excellence through an equitable student-centered environment supported by positive collaborations with students, staff, parents, school, and community.

Mission

Educating and empowering all students to succeed.

Beliefs

Fargo Public Schools prioritize student growth through belief in all students' potential, fostering a positive environment, delivering quality instruction by skilled educators, fostering community engagement, and using data for ongoing improvement.

Co-Curricular Engagement
Fargo Public Schools will support student learning by providing students the opportunity to engage in a variety of co-curricular activities designed to enhance their overall educational experience.
School Culture and Safety
Create a supportive and positive school climate.
Tiered Instruction
Empower all students to grow and achieve proficiency of the district's content standards and graduate Choice Ready.
Objectives
  • Fargo Public Schools will enhance learning by offering diverse co-curricular activities that enrich students’ educational experience.
Objectives
  • Fargo Public Schools will implement equitable processes to create a sense of belonging for all students and staff in supportive environments.
Objectives
  • Fargo Public Schools ensure equitable support for all, fostering growth with necessary resources for mastering essential learning outcomes.
Critical Initiative
  • Administer participant surveys at the end of each activity to gauge student satisfaction. (M02, M03
  • Administer participants' self-assessment surveys to evaluate their perceived growth in creativity, confidence, communication, and collaboration. (M04)
  • Administer post-program surveys conducted with elementary parents to assess their perception of their child's enhanced life skills. (M04)
  • Assess student interests and regional trends to ensure our offerings meet the needs of our students. (M01)
  • Continue to develop and implement policies and procedures to assist our advisors, coaches, and directors in providing positive experiences for our students. (M01, M02, M03)
  • Monitor the number of NDHSAA Team Scholar Awards earned by groups participating in sanctioned activities. (M03)
  • Regularly evaluate efforts to engage participants from diverse backgrounds, striving to provide equitable access to our programs and resources for all students, regardless of financial means. (M04)
  • Select and retain high quality advisors, coaches, and directors for the benefit of the students in our programs. (M01, M02, M03)
  • Track the GPA of participants vs. non-participants. (M03)
Critical Initiative
  • District Safety and Drills Training/Support (M04)
  • Expand and Evaluate School-wide Tiered Restorative Practices (M01, M02, M03)
  • Implement and Maintain Comprehensive Crisis Prevention and Trauma-sensitive Intervention Systems (M02, M04)
  • Implement Foundational Classroom Management Practices that Promote Positive Relationships and Emotionally Safe Learning Environments (M01, M02, M03)
  • Implement Systematic Climate and Culture Enhancements, Feedback, and Communication (M01, M02, M03)
  • Implementation of Behavioral Threat Assessment Tool - District Wide (M04)
  • Implementation of Building Site Safety Scores (M04)
  • Leverage Therapeutic and Clinical Mental Health Supports within the School and Community (M02, M03)
  • Strengthen School-Based Systems of Integrated Student Support (M01, M02, M03)
  • Systematically Develop and Sustain Multi-tiered Behavioral Frameworks (M01, M02, M03)
Critical Initiative
  • Advance instructional effectiveness through professional learning and collaborative leadership. (M02)
  • Broaden access to rigorous learning and expand instructional resources and CTE innovations. (M02, M03)
  • Elevating Digital Learning and Technology Integration (M02, M03)
  • Enhancing Specialized Student Supports and Resource Access. (M02, M03)
  • Ensuring Compliance, Professional Learning, and Collaborative Partnerships. (M02, M03)
  • Improving and Expanding Math Intervention Supports (M02, M03)
  • Monitor Career Ready Practice integration and define data collection for Work Ready indicator. (M01)
  • Optimize curriculum, strengthen literacy, and enhance access with aligned resources and equity. (M02)
  • Refine data-driven decision-making and personalized learning through MTSS implementation. (M02, M03)
  • Strengthening Family and Student Support Systems (M02, M03)
Key Measures
  • FPS Trollwood Parent Survey
Key Measures
  • NDDPI Choice Ready data
Community/Communication
Fargo Public Schools will communicate effectively and engage with internal and external stakeholders to build community trust and support. And will communicate proactively and with transparency.
Equitable Resources
Fargo Public Schools will secure and allocate resources needed to adequately fund and carry out the strategic plan.
Objectives
  • Fargo Public Schools will build trust through clear, transparent, and proactive communication with all stakeholders.
  • Fargo Public Schools will partner with local groups and agencies to support student academic success.
Objectives
  • Fargo Public Schools will employ skilled staff committed to empowering all students to succeed.
  • Fargo Public Schools will meet the needs of all students by providing equitable resources across the district.
  • Fargo Public Schools will secure and allocate resources needed to adequately fund and carry out the FPS Strategic Plan.
Critical Initiative
  • Analyze counselor and teacher dual credit integration time to support student completion. (M01)
  • Conduct monthly reviews of website analytics and search history to systematically enhance the District's website's relevance and user experience. (M02)
  • Connect students with internships, cooperative work experiences, or classroom experiences in local schools. (M01)
  • Continue to refine, update or create logos for schools, departments and programs to ensure high quality files for all District logos. (M02)
  • Cultivate industry partnerships in partnership with the FMWF Chamber of Commerce & Golden Path to increase Work-Based Learning options for students. (M01)
  • Define district procedures for dual credit partnerships between universities and instructor onboarding. (M01)
  • Designate a communications champion within each school to be the submitter of content to the Communications Department. (M01, M03)
  • Develop an overview video on all schools, ECSE, and Adult Learning Center for inclusion on their District website. (M01)
  • Develop and expand communications for the Long-Range Facility Plan, including expansion of online resources, videos and communication for the community at large. (M02)
  • Establish and communicate district process for approval and implementation of dual credit courses. (M01)
  • Evaluate currently used social media channels for continuation and research possible expansions. (M02)
  • Monitor practices to ensure student self-reporting of work experiences for Choice Ready. (M01)
  • Provide training or collaboration between high school educators and college faculty to ensure integrity on dual credit pathway courses. (M01)
  • Publicize the video request form for use by buildings, departments and programs, and review submissions for determination of video projects and workflow. (M01)
  • Work with schools, departments and programs to update and modify the public website as needed and add content per the analyzation of data available. (M02)
Critical Initiative
  • Analyze exit data to identify common themes and address systematic concerns (M03, M05)
  • Conduct an analysis of staffing structure to improve labor efficiency. (M04)
  • Custodial Task Tracking & Accountability System (M02)
  • Develop and implement a resource efficiency review process (M05)
  • Develop policies and procedures to successfully implement GASB 101 Compensated Absences. (M02)
  • District conversion from PowerSchool to Infinite Campus (M01)
  • Enhance and monitor new staff onboarding. (M03, M04)
  • Evaluation and support for experienced instructional staff. (M02)
  • Expand access to leadership development programs (e.g., aspiring leaders, mentor teacher training). (M03)
  • Facility Cleanliness Dashboard & Quarterly Review Process (M02)
  • Implement alternative serving models to meet the needs of the growing prevalence of high school students leaving campus over lunch time. (M03)
  • Increase central kitchen processing of raw ingredients to minimize distribution labor expenses. (M04)
  • Invest 25% of idle cash in the highest yield available by getting bids from area financial institutions on a semi-annual basis and maintaining compliance with state laws on public investment of funds.
  • Launch a district-wide staff recognition program that highlights excellence at the building and district level. (M03)
  • New Teacher mentorship and support. (M03, M05)
  • On a monthly basis, monitor year-to-date grant expenditures to ensure funds are on track to be spent in compliance with grant effective dates and grantor terms. (M01)
  • Salary and benefits systematic review and adjustment. (M04, M05)
  • Staff recruitment and promotion (M01, M04, M05)
  • Standardized Cleanliness & Communication Training Program (M02)
  • Submit grant reimbursement requests within 5 days of the close of the month for Sept-June to improve the 3-year average days to reimburse from 12.41 days to 11.41 days. (M01)
Key Measures
  • Career readiness data
  • Choice Ready data
  • Counselor & teacher dual credit data
  • FPS dual credit plan implementation and training
  • FPS Long-Range Facility communication data
  • FPS School Logo Files
  • FPS school story report data
  • FPS school video overview data
  • FPS web traffic & social media performance data
  • FPS work-based learning data
  • List of FPS Communication Champions
Key Measures
  • FPF school meal and a la carte sales data
  • FPS analysis of staffing structure
  • FPS Budget data
  • FPS central kitchen prep data
  • FPS expenditures
  • FPS filled classified staff positions data
  • FPS internal review
  • FPS New Teacher data
  • FPS task tracking & accountability data
  • FPS Workload Analysis tool
  • GASB 101 Compensated Absences policies & procedure
  • grant reimbursement data
  • Infinite Campus Readiness Survey
The Strategy Map has been created in collaboration with The North Dakota Department of Public Instruction and Cognia™.

All schools in North Dakota participate in a Continuous Improvement process. Continuous Improvement means examining a school’s current reality including demographics, culture, technology, finances, and academic progress, among many other factors. In addition, Continuous Improvement means looking into the future and predicting what may change – what will be different a year from now, or 10 years from now.

 

During the 2018-2019 school year, all schools in North Dakota participated in this Continuous Improvement journey. School personnel participated in training and collaborated with diverse stakeholders such as community members, teachers, parents and students to map out what the school’s priorities are, what the school’s objectives are and what critical initiatives needed to be implemented to achieve those objectives. This planning process resulted in a Strategy Map – a 3 to 5-year plan for the school.

 

It is important to note that the Strategy Map is a snapshot in time. It is documentation of what the school’s priorities were the past school year. In this case the Strategy Map below was captured and submitted on May 1, 2019. It is equally important to note that the Strategy Map below may have changed since its submittal. This is because priorities may have changed quickly depending on numerous factors. Factors can include, but are not limited to, a natural disaster, a high staff turn-over rate, or an influx or decrease of students. To obtain a copy of this schools current and update Strategy Map, please contact the local school administrator.



Please contact North Dakota's Department of Public Instruction with any questions and feedback via email to the following address: dpidashboard@nd.gov