Strategic-planning group meets to define what success for Kent School District is supposed to mean

A group of about 65 community members, school district staff and students met for a second time in a week Friday at the Kent School District administration building.

They had a specific job in front of them, and one which school administration hopes will be a lasting effort:

Developing a new strategic plan for the Kent School District.

The group first met for a daylong session Thursday, following that up with a half-day session Friday. Clustered in social units around individual tables Friday morning, the group, known as the District Strategic Plan Steering Committee, worked through some major lists that morning, identifying key parts of who their “customers” are in the district, among other tasks to accomplish.

“Customers” in this sense means those parts of the community who have buy-in to what the district is trying to accomplish in its mission to educate students.

Leading the effort was Judy Phillips, chief executive officer for Parntership for Excellence, a North Carolina-based company with experience in helping school districts develop strategic plans.

“This is a wonderful group,” Phillips said, during a break in the session. “There are 64 valuable, different perspectives that represent the community, internally and externally.”

Of the dialogue the group has thus far generated, “it’s been magnificent,” she said.

Two days of discussion are just the first step of what is expected to be a long-term project.

“It’s not an event; it’s an ongoing project,” Phillips said.

These first two days are just the start, and their tasks include identifying a common “vocabulary” – key words that have the same meaning for participants; exploring a term called “affinity,” which means bringing the larger perspectives to the table of the groups these strategic committee members represent; and identifying who has buy-in into district goals, and identifying some of the “core values” of the planning process.

It’s a comprehensive start to what Kent School Board members and district administration hopes will be a longterm commitment to developing a workable vision for where the Kent School District wants to go within the decade.

According to School Board Chairwoman Debbie Straus, a key part of the picture is having a group representing so many facets of the Kent community.

“We tried really hard to get the breadth of our community,” Straus said, during a break in Friday’s session. “We’ve been working all summer long, trying to get ready.

“Were trying to develop a strategic plan for the district over the next five to 10 years. Today we’re getting ready to work toward that goal.”

The committee is made up of students from Kent’s four high schools, district administrators, teachers and other school staff, local businesspeople, local clergy, social-service organizations, nonprofit entities and local government officials.

Its next session takes place Nov. 8 and 9, when it identifies “district priorities,” as well as completing a feedback survey to continue refining the district’s draft priorities and goals.

The group’s fifth day of meetings taks place Dec. 9., when it finalizes the district’s priorities and goals, as well as identifying “definitions of success” for each of those goals.

The group will present a package of goals, action steps, timelines and budgets to the Kent School Board for action in January.

And while Phillips acknowledged everyone is coming to the table with a different background and perspective, “the rubber’s gonna meet the road when we decide on those priorities and sets of goals.”

To learn more about the strategic planning process, visit the Kent School District Web site at www.kent.k12.wa.us.

The Kent Reporter will provide more updates to this developing story, including comments from strategic-planning members.