Strategic Plan Background
In July 2017, the Board of Education established a goal for a broad-based, community-focused strategic planning effort to occur during the 2017-18 school year.
After a comprehensive search and interview process, the Board of Education on Oct. 9, 2017 approved Hazard, Young and Attea and Associates (HYA) to facilitate the strategic planning process. HYA is a consulting firm with a 35-year history of partnering with school districts to conduct strategic planning. The approach is research-based and focused on improving outcomes for student and the community.
In January 2018, nearly 2,500 community members took a 10-minute strategic planning survey, administered by HYA. In addition, HYA hosted three community forums open to the general public, as well as more than 40 focus groups with varied local stakeholders. HYA reports that 575 residents participated in these in-person opportunities, providing valuable feedback.
In February 2018, the HYA consultants carefully analyzed the feedback received through the community forums, focus groups and online survey. They used their expertise to determine common trends, themes and big ideas. They parsed out this information and created a draft Strategic Plan report. HYA shared that the survey alone produced 213 pages of single-spaced comments, plus they collectively captured many more pages of notes from the in-person focus groups.
In late February and early March, the HYA consultants met with the Vision 58 Planning Team and the the Board’s Meet & Confer Strategic Plan Committee to review big ideas, themes and their draft Strategic Plan report.
Although HYA originally planned to present its draft Strategic Plan report to the Board during the Board’s March meeting, they requested to move this presentation to April. This allowed HYA, in conjunction with the Vision 58 Planning Committee and the Meet & Confer Strategic Plan Committee, additional time to refine the draft report to ensure it fully captured the community’s feedback and vision for District 58’s future.
HYA presented the the final draft of their Strategic Plan report to the Board of Education during the Board’s regular April 2018 Board meeting.
The Board of Education voted to approve the final Strategic Plan Report during its regular May business meeting, on Monday, May 14. The 23-page report summarizes the feedback provided by stakeholders during the Vision 58 effort. The plan also includes three strategic goal areas–Focusing on Learning, Connecting the Community, and Securing the Future–and associated objectives for each. The goals and objectives are based on themes that emerged from the focus groups and survey and are in alignment with the District’s mission, vision and guiding principles.
During Summer 2018, Strategic Plan development teams comprising teachers, support staff, parents and administrators built out the action steps of the new Strategic Plan. They created objectives, strategies, timelines and performance metrics associated with the plan’s three big ambitious goals: Focusing on Learning, Connecting the Community, and Securing the Future.
In August 2018, the Board formed the District Leadership Team to provide support and accountability for the Strategic Plan’s progress going forward.
During the regular September business meeting on Sept. 17, 2018, the Board of Education approved the Strategic Plan Action Steps.
District 58 sent messages to parents and staff on Sept. 20, inviting them to collaborate with the District as we pursue excellence in education through the Strategic Plan. The District formed several working groups to address the Strategic Plan’s goal areas. To ensure representative feedback from all stakeholders and schools, the District invited the community to complete an interest form. More than 100 stakeholders responded, and working group meetings began in late September. These groups will continue to meet throughout the duration of the Strategic Plan to help achieve its goals.
The District Leadership Team plans to present Strategic Plan progress updates to the Board and community in December, March and June, with an annual goal presentation in August.