With a new superintendent and a new school year, the South Whidbey School Board met Monday and Tuesday as part of a retreat to outline the district’s goals.

The main focus was “student achievement,” an educational buzzword. It can mean test scores, grade point averages, athletic prowess, artistic expression or graduation rates, depending on how a district defines achievement.

For Superintendent Jo Moccia, student achievement will be defined by how prepared a student is to leave school and enter the workforce.

“It’s really about creating a pathway of getting students career and college ready when they leave us,” Moccia said. “So it’s defining what that means and that kind of achievement. Test scores are only a piece of that, but they are a piece of it.”

Board Member Steve Scoles agreed with Moccia that only part of achievement is measurable by test scores and other quantifiable qualities. Some remain unmeasurable, such as a student painter’s brushstrokes or a young musician’s compositions.

“I think there’s been too much reliance on raw test scores and data, and not enough work on interpretation and funding needed improvements,” Scoles said. “Are they happy with their performance? Does their art strike people?”

Those are just some of the questions and issues the school board, superintendent and school administrators hoped to address during the retreat.

The retreat was not without its drawbacks. Cuts continued, as the district recently chopped the Adventure Education program at Langley Middle School. The program sent a dozen or so students on a week-long excursion to learn about ecology, travel, history and wilderness education. It won’t be offered next year.

“It was one of those painful cuts,” Scoles said. “I think the kids generally have a tremendous amount of benefit from that program, but much of it is intangible and unmeasurable.”

Another lost program is the Powerful Teaching and Learning Communities. It sent teachers to observe peers in similar disciplines at other schools on paid time off. Scoles said the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction removed programs like it from its list of priorities, so the district followed suit.

By defining priorities, school officials will develop the district’s goals and vision to move forward with a new superintendent and in November, a new board. Board Chairman Rich Parker and Board Member Leigh Anderson did not seek re-election; Damian Greene and Linda Racicot will replace them.

“There’s going to be a lot of fresh eyes looking at the district,” Scoles said.

The turnover in leadership gave the district an opportunity to establish a new identity. Meeting together at the retreat was the first step in that process.

“We’re building on what’s been done in the past and setting a new course,” Moccia said.

The board also reviewed an update from Moccia on her entry plan. She listed some common themes in her more than 60 conversations with teachers, parents, students, community leaders and more.

“Essentially what I’m finding is people are really positive about the district,” Moccia said. “People are proud of how the community is involved with the schools.”

Scoles, an early supporter of Moccia’s plan to listen and learn before making changes, was pleased with her report.

“I think she has a good plan and she is focusing on listening,” Scoles said.

“She’s a quick learner, too. She’s talking to the people she needs to and reaching out.”

One point of contention between the district and the community was kept out of the retreat: the closure of Langley Middle School.

Instead, Scoles said Moccia wants to prioritize students and teachers over buildings, until she has a better evaluation of which programs are integral to the district.

“Her priority is finding what are the programs we want,” Scoles said.

In an attempt to boost the visibility and appeal of the South Whidbey School District, Scoles said the website will be revamped. Instead of dwelling on declining enrollment, district officials want to change the discourse to entice families and students to South Whidbey.

“We want to set a tone that we’re glad you’re here, and we’re going to do the best we can with our resources and attract more kids,” Scoles said. “We want to be a district that shines like a light and attracts people.”

The school board will meet again at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 24 in the board room in the back of South Whidbey Primary Campus.