A cast of thousands, or at least a dozen, presented a draft version of the 5-year Natick Public Schools Strategic Plan this past week to the School Committee for its consideration.
A wee 37-member Strategic Plan Steering Committee consisting of students, parents, educators, school leaders and others helped to develop the plan, with support from a consultant and feedback through public forums and a survey. All in all, it took about a year to put the plan together, starting with data collection and review, followed by Steering Committee meetings, data analysis, defining mission/vision/values, and eventually strategic focus areas and priorities under those. The school leadership team took it from there, finalizing the plan and action items.
The plan’s catchphrase: “Where each learner discovers a place, a purpose, and a future.”
You can watch and listen to the full presentation and discussion about the plan via the Natick Pegasus recording about 20 minutes in.
The Strategic Plan provides a road map for where the School Department is going and how to get there. The last plan went through 2023.
The current bridge plan, between the past strategic plan and this new one, focused on strengthening instructional practices, data analysis revealed the need for a broader framework encapsulated in four focus areas, said Jordan Hoffman, principal at Bennett-Hemenway Elementary School.
Within those areas are 12 priorities, such as closing persistent achievement gaps, having consistent security/emergency plans across schools, and teaching digital literacy (yes, including artificial intelligence).
Under the Communication & Community Engagement focus area, we’d love to be part of the solution (reach out at natickreport@gmail.com with ideas).
Once the Strategic Plan is set, next up will be moving items into the annual action plan and superintendent goals heading in the fall, said Dr. Melissa Spash, Natick Public Schools superintendent. A final version once approved by the School Committee and formatted, will be shared publicly online in the near future.
But first, School Committee members did have their say. Mercifully, the team assembling the Strategic Plan did some “de-jargoning,” per Dr. Spash, before presenting to the School Committee (though committee member Cathi Collins encouraged doing even more of that, making sure any acronyms are spelled out on first reference, for example). She also tried to dig into what qualitative analysis was done to come up with the four focus areas in the plan, and pointed out that that certain elements of the plan may require funding that may or may not materialize.
School Committee members were generally complimentary of the draft plan, with Catherine Brunell calling the focus areas perfect for students and the district. Dr. Shai Fuxman pointed to the many voices who had input into the plan, and said it is now up to the community to take next steps enabled by the blueprint.
School Committee member Elise Gorseth concurred with those sentiments, though also asked how what looks to be a straightforward plan will allow for creative innovation going forward. This might entail the use of AI for efficiencies, she said. To that point, Dr. Spash said it’s clear the administration will need to be explicit about its efforts to innovate and gain efficiencies as the plan rolls forward.
Ed Lee, with the Teaching & Learning Alliance consultancy that orchestrated the planning process, said he expects the plan will be dynamic, and not static, so will inevitably require adjustments in the years ahead. “This starts with the School Committee, filters down to the superintendent, filters into the schools, and then to the staff,” he said.
The School Committee intends to vote on the plan at its June 15 meeting.
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