St. Charles School Board moving ahead to develop new strategic plan for district

The St. Charles District 303 School Board continues to move forward on developing a new strategic plan for the district.

Board members discussed the plan during their board retreat July 9.

“What are those important goals that drive the district that really are the big metrics that we continually look at?” Superintendent Paul Gordon said in addressing board members. “I really want the board to think about four or five goals.”

Schaumburg-based Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates is helping the district with its strategic plan. The firm also led the search that resulted in the hiring of Gordon, who started with the district July 1.

Gordon said putting together the plan is a collaborative effort.

“It has to be a collaborative process with the board, the community and the staff,” he said.

Board members discussed at length the portion of the strategic plan called Portrait of a Learner. According to district officials, the goal of Portrait of a Learner is to provide a framework that informs the strategic plan and helps the district decide how to provide students the experiences and opportunities that help them develop the competencies they need when they graduate.

School Board Vice President Joseph Lackner wanted to make sure Portrait of a Learner addressed all types of learners.

“We know that each student has his or her own path,” he said. “One of the challenges when we homogenize everything into this kind of hole is that we lose sight of the fact that their paths through the district are going to vary and their ambitions upon graduation will vary.”

Board member Ed McNally agreed.

“We want to always remember that we’re talking about the diversity of learning,” he said.

Gordon said he hopes the major components of the strategic plan will be done by the winter. He stressed the need to put the strategic plan into effect upon completion.

“It can’t be on a bookshelf somewhere collecting dust,” Gordon said. “It has to be actionable. It has to be a living, breathing document that serves its purpose.”