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Title : Catching Up On District Meetings - Work Session on Strategic Plan
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Catching Up On District Meetings - Work Session on Strategic Plan

The first meeting to catch up on was a Work Session on October 29th which was a presentation by District Management Group (DMG), the consulting firm that will be directing the work for a new strategic plan under Superintendent Juneau.  All the Board members were present except for Director DeWolf and Director Patu.  Juneau noted this would be the first of several Work Sessions on this topic.  (There is no link to the presentation materials but I have requested one.)

The two DMG folks leading this effort are David James and Hosanna Mahaley.  They h ave worked with all sizes/types of districts across the nation.

I was somewhat thrilled with the first slide which talked about DMG's beliefs:

We believe that a district must focus on meeting all three of these objectives to achieve lasting results for students: Resource Allocation and Operational Efficiency to provide Student Outcomes.

Really glad that Operations is in focus because if your district does run well operationally, it won't be a successful district.


DMG stated that it is a 5-6 month long process "that will entail a needs assessment and then development of a plan."  In developing that plan:

• Refine long-term aspirational goals for SPS 
• Draft a theory of action about what it takes to raise achievement and make your vision a reality
• Develop district priorities in line with the drafted theory of action
• Finalize specific and measurable targets related to district priorities (measurable goals)
• Incorporate community feedback into the drafted plan

Then comes implementation:

• Draft a detailed action plan with role/responsibilities delineated, establish timelines, determine plan to track/monitor progress
• Create templates/framework for schools to create school-level improvement plans in accordance with strategic plan
• develop management dashboard to track/monitor progress on each goal/objective 

There is an SPS Steering Committee of 16 people. About two-thirds of the membership is JSCEE staff or leadership plus PTSA, Director Jill Geary and a couple of community members.  (I see yet another Children's Alliance person; I have to wonder how this group is somehow getting their staff on SPS committees.  Hmm.)  There is no chair of the committee.

Director Mack questioned why there was no one on the committee from the Sped PTSA.  Geary said the committee isn't "monolithic."  Director Pinkham was not happy with the Native American representation by PTSA President Chandra Hampson.  Director Harris pointed out that the last strategic plan was created by a committee of 60 people.

All of that leads me to note that no one suggested going back and looked at the last 20 years of plans and see what worked and what didn't.

A draft of the Strategic Plan was to go to Juneau on November 20th; I'll have to ask for that.  December 1st the Board is slated to give feedback; maybe at the Board retreat this Saturday?

The presentation had a page -  " Characteristics of a Well Crafted Priority List"- and Director Burke said that he felt like it might be brainstorming without a box to put those ideas into.

The presentation said the Committee had these draft thematic areas:

- community and family engagement
- equitable access and opportunity
- high-quality instruction
- human capital 
- systems and accountability

Directors also talked about including student voices and Director Mack said that the priority should be to make sure these are positive interactions.  Director Pinkham also suggested meeting people where they feel comfortable.  President Harris said that a feedback loop is important to show community the Board is listening to what community has to say.

 There was then a discussion about equitable access and, I think, PTA funding.  Director Geary said that she hopes to find a way to not discourage these contributions but find a way of "dispersing opportunity around our district."

Director Mack noted that increasing class sizes make the challenge of equity more difficult.

President Harris stated that there needed to be a district definition of equity.  She said the district needs to quit pitting communities against each other for limited resources and demonizing people with unique needs."

There was also discussion about a baseline for each school but Geary fretted that if the system is underfunded, things may be equal but not equitable.

Mack said, "Equity is all kids getting what they need."  She said there had to be additional supports and services for marginalized students.  Geary came back, "Get what they need to what end?"  She went on saying that the job of education is too open-ended and that the district needed to tailor the definition to where they want to get to.

Burke said that high quality instruction is the "core" of what has to be delivered.  Geary said students have to be "energized and education has to be relevant to them."

Mack agreed saying that education has to be accessible and engaging.  Burke then brought in a note of pragmatism to the discussion saying that the counterpoint to relevant and exciting is that all of life isn't that way.  He said it is important for students to build stamina and work ethic and pride in their work.  He said the components can be relevant and exciting.

On the issue of "human capital" (a term that I loathe), Geary said they needed to be mindful that the teaching force and staff are the huge part of the budget - the lion's share - and it moves around the district in a way not mindful of resources.

Harris said she would like to see equitable payment for teachers and IAs and how to figure that out without attacking the seniority system and getting more expert teachers in higher needs schools.

Both Harris and Pinkham voiced approval for more mentorships and internships.

There was a lot of talk about systems improvement.  Pinkham said that mistakes should not be brushed aside.

Analysis
The district clearly needs a new blueprint for the work.   I think the dashboard additions were a good start but that needs to be more accessible and understandable.  I agree that tracking progress and holding people accountable for the lack thereof is key to having a living, breathing strategic plan. 

I believe after the first of the year, DMG will have a series of community meetings (but I think just two so far) to ask the public for their input. 

If you would like to give input, DMG's email is info@dmgroupK12.com.

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