Decorah School Superintendent: Decorah schools need to get better at getting better.

Decorah School Superintendent Mark Lane has been in his job for six months. That's given him time to learn the strengths and weaknesses of the school district.

A few strengths he is highlighting are current financial stability and students' strong performances on academic assessments. For instance, the Decorah average ACT scores are above the state averages.

Now he has come out with some recommendations about the direction the district should go to encourage improvements. "Isolated random acts of improvement will not produce improved systemic results. We need to pause our efforts and get better at getting better," he says.

To do that, Lane has two main areas of focus. First, he wants teachers and administrators to build a learning plan for each school building. Secondly, he wants a clear and coordinated plan of improvement for the school district so everyone is on the same page.

Lane says he will continue to talk to school board administrators, school administration, teachers, staff members, and the public about this issue.