District 303 school board working to develop new strategic plan for district

As St. Charles school board members work on developing a new strategic plan for the district, they are discussing values that will drive the plan.

"The board will work collaboratively to develop three overarching values that will drive the strategic plan," District 303 Superintendent Paul Gordon said in addressing board members at their Aug. 11 meeting. "When I work with strategic plans, I really like to work from the inside out. And those values are one of the most foundational aspects a strategic plan really needs to lead into."

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 on July 1.

"It's the board's obligation to really think about the values of the organization as a whole," Gordon said. "What holds us together?"

Following the discussion, board members tentatively decided that belonging, perseverance and achievement should be the values that drive the new plan. The plan will be further discussed at future meetings.

"You can achieve, but not necessarily be innovative," board President Heidi Fairgrieve said. "I would like us to be both."

Board Vice President Joseph Lackner said he would like students to have a sense of belonging.

"I would like every student that participates in D303 to feel that they belong here and not only that they belong here, but that their school experience belongs to them," he said.

Board member Matthew Kuschert made the case that perseverance should be one of the values driving the new strategic plan.

"Without perseverance, you are not going to have achievement," he said.

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

Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates gathered community input on what academic skills are important. Strong written and oral communication skills along with reading comprehension top the list.

Lackner wants to make sure Portrait of a Learner/Graduate addressed all types of learners.

"We know that each student has his or her own path," he previously 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.