Strategic Planning and Visioning: Strategic Themes Report Riverdale School District Presented by Coraggio Group October 15, 2012
RSD Strategic Themes Report - October 2012
Overview: Riverdale School District Strategic Themes As part of the Visioning and Strategic Planning process, Coraggio recently completed a Strategic Themes review that was comprised of 1:1 interviews and focus groups. The purpose of this outreach effort, which included approximately 65 people from a variety of stakeholder groups (including School Board, Administration, Faculty, Staff, In District Parents, Out of District Parents, Foundation, Community, and Students), was to understand various stakeholders perspectives on Riverdale and its strategic path forward. The interviews, which were generally one hour each, focused on these key strategic questions:
What is your long-term vision for the District? What does success look like in five years? What does success in our education of students look like? What unique set of capabilities do we have as a district? What is it that is unique about Riverdale today? What do we want to be known for in the future? What do you believe should be the key areas of focus for Riverdale School District over the next five years? All stakeholders interviewed felt a genuine passion for the District and were eager to support the success of this Strategic Plan. . One area of unanimous concern was strong and consistent leadership of the district, both at the Principal and Superintendent level. Opinions varied, however, on what success would look like for RSD ± some felt it was a greater emphasis on academic excellence, while others believe that the District can differentiate itself by focusing on educating the whole child. Still others believe it is a combination of both that will define success for the District in the future. It should also be noted that there was an important difference between the views of Parents and Faculty at the Grade School, who felt there are a number of areas for improvement, versus those at the High School, who felt they are already achieving success and need to push for excellence in other areas. Based on the findings of this report, the Steering Committee will now be tasked with developing a Vision and Strategic Plan for the District over the coming months. This will include specific action items and metrics to allow us to track progress against defined areas of focus. The community is invited to participate in that process by reaching out to any of the Steering Committee members listed on page 3 of this report. Coraggio Group RSD Strategic Themes Report - October 2012
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Timeline: Riverdale School District Strategic Plan Timeline August
September
October
November
December
January
Week Of: 6
13 20 27
3
10 17 24
1
8
15 22 29
5
12 19 26
3
10 17 24 31
7
14 21 28
Steering Committee Working Sessions Interviews and Focus Groups Board Progress Review Monthly Progress update with Superintendent, School Board chair Final Presentation to the School Board
Get Clear Strategic Needs Analysis: Internal and External Interviews 6WUDWHJLF 7KHPHV ³%LJ 5RFNV´ identified
Get Focused Strategic Clarity 9 Vision 9 Mission 9 Values 9 Unique Value Proposition 9 Strategic Mandates 9 Areas of Focus
Get Moving Implications of Strategic Plan Implementation Roadmap
Strategic Planning and Visioning: Steering Committee Members
Mike Gunter ± RSD School Board Chair
Lisa Becker ± interim GS Principal
Paula Robinson ± HS Principal
Sharon Whitehill - GS Faculty representative
David Thompson - HS Faculty representative
Elizabeth Friedman ± Student representative
TBD - In District Parent representative
Elaine Lowe ± Out of District Parent representative
Heather Bogaty ± GS PTC representative
Kathleen Tully ± HS PTC representative
Marybeth Fossati - Foundation representative
Barbara Chalmers - Community representative
RSD Strategic Themes Report - October 2012
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65 perspectives contributed to this report: 29 individuals FRQWULEXWHG WKHLU WKRXJKWV WKURXJK LQWHUYLHZV«
Mike Gunter ± Board Chair
Sharon Place ± In District Parent
Kristen Kohnstamm ± Board Member
Jennifer Novack ± In District Parent
Steve Klein ± Board Member
Jeff Brown ± Faculty
John Bogaty ± Board Member
Larissa Reece ± Faculty
Dean Griffith ± Board Vice Chair
Kristine Collins ± Foundation
Brook MacNamara ± Superintendent
Jim Coonan ± Community
Leslie Goss ± Foundation
Holly Coit ± Community
Heather Bogaty ± Grade School PTC
Maya Klein ± High School PTC
Paula Robinson ± High School Principal
Nicole Grayson ± Grade School PTC
Susan Teeter ± High School Staff
Chrys Hutchings ± Grade School PTC
Al Fitzpatrick ± Grade School Principal
Jennifer Freeman ± Grade School PTC
Lisa Becker ± Grade School Principal
Kelly Fitzgerald ± Grade School PTC
Sue Jonson ± Grade School Staff
Catarina Hunter ± Grade School PTC
Betsy Biss ± Grade School Staff
Chris Samwick ± Grade School PTC
Rob Pridemore ± High School Staff RSD Strategic Themes Report - October 2012
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«DQG SHRSOH SDUWLFLSDWHG LQ VL[ IRFXV JURXSV Faculty
Foundation Parents ± Out of District
Parents ± In District
Community Students
Date
September 18, 4-5pm, GS Library
September 25, 12:00-1:00pm, District Office
October 1, 6:30-7:30pm, GS Library
October 2, 6:30-7:30pm, GS Library
October 3, 5:00-6:00pm, GS Library
October 10, 8:30-9am, HS International Room
Participants
Christy Drogosch Nancy Helmsworth Dan Palma David Schell David Thompson Tammy Sutter Brian Black Molly Scholz
Dean Dordevic Joe Prats Jennifer Field Jillian Cain
Linda Welsh Laura Schwerin
Suzanne Zurasky Mary Potter Jill Petty Shannon Janoff Beth Francis Paul Spellman Sara Conte Brenda Hummelt Jill Faherty Kyin Lok
Sylvia Gates Jill Schnitzer Edelson Susan Rech Andrew Allen
Megan Gooding Sierra Green Elizabeth Friedman Logan Rooper Jessie Jansen Elizabeth Bartlett Collin Styring Nathan Gruenberg
RSD Strategic Themes Report - October 2012
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Interview Results: Strategic Guidance Aspiration Unique value What success looks like
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Aspiration: What is possible because Riverdale exists?
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whomever
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creative, curious
people who understand the wider world and want to PDNH D GLIIHUHQFH LQ LW ´ ³5D]RU VKDUS DQG focused RQ VWXGHQW OHDUQLQJ ´ ³Our vision needs to be child-centered. The union, the parents, the administration look at things from their own perspective. We need to put
the kids in the
center of everything we are doing ´ ³7KLV VKRXOG EH D SODFH ZKHUH NLGV GRQ¶W IDOO
through the cracks, where we know each child DQG ZKDW WKH\ QHHG ´ ³3XW WKH students GHFLVLRQV ´
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first in all we do, in all our
RSD Strategic Themes Report - October 2012
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Aspiration: What is possible because Riverdale exists? cont. Âł, ZDQW XV WR HGXFDWH FKLOGUHQ ZKR ZLOO EH WKH future
leaders of our society´ ³, ZDQW RXU VWXGHQWV WR NQRZ WKDW our
community cares about them, that we depend on them for the
Creating the leaders of tomorrow
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ÂłAcademic
rigor and small class sizes, high quality of teaching. We have lost our way
to impact the world successful
contributors to our world ´ ³We should be educating leaders´
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outstanding education experience while SURPRWLQJ  OHDGHUVKLS LQ WKH VWXGHQW ERG\ ´ We provide an individualized education where kids are used to taking on leadership roles: leading classroom discussions, having conversations with FRQILGHQFH ´
Outstanding, Individualized Education ÂłRiverdale is seen as a place where families can come and kids can feel safe,
where education is exceptional, where we educate the whole student, we value GLYHUVLW\ DQG ZH DUH UHFRJQL]HG DV WKH SUHHPLQHQW GLVWULFW ´ ³ ,œG ORYH WR VHH XV ZRUN DV D ZKROH FRPPXQLW\ WR educate
the whole child, focusing both on student academic needs
Focus on the Whole Child
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on the whole child: socially, emotionally, as well as academically ´ RSD Strategic Themes Report - October 2012
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Unique Value: What makes Riverdale unique?
= What RSD needs to ³RZQ´ IRU WKH IXWXUH
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Small class sizes and great test results are our brand. We need to hold RQ WR WKHVH ´ ³6PDOO FODVV VL]HV PDGH a difference for our children becoming strong DFDGHPLF SHUIRUPHUV ´ ³2XU VPDOO FODVV VL]HV FUHDWH D ³VPDOO WRZQ DWPRVSKHUH´ ZKHUH HDFK student gets what they QHHG ´
Educating the Whole Child
(Riverdale benefits from an) ³LQYROYHG, committed, and intellectual parent body ´
Parents that are involved and care deeply about education
Academic Excellence
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Riverdale School District
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Excellent teaching
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Small class sizes Community
RSD Strategic Themes Report - October 2012
Our community is heavily involved in the school. Our schools are our community centers. This means all students are known, which is a WUHPHQGRXV DVVHW ´ ³:H QHHG WR OHYHUDJH RXU VWURQJ community for community service. We should be known for 10  JLYLQJ EDFN ´
What does success look like? Integrated, comprehensive curriculum Âł, ZDQW 5LYHUGDOH WR EH known
Improvement in student performance and school district accountability to performance goals. Âł:H QHHG WR show
results quicklyKRZ we are going to address the SUREOHPV ZH KDYH )RFXVHG GLUHFWLRQ 7KDWœV VKRUWHU WKDQ PRQWKV WKDWœV now ´ ³6WURQJ WUDMHFWRU\ RI DFDGHPLF LPSURYHPHQW ´ ³:H QHHG WR EH D high
performance school, with high
DFFRXQWDELOLW\´
for the entire
program, not individual teachers or individual programs at GS or HS. We do not have a defined plan for excellence ´ ³I want us to offer a progressive curriculum, with an emphasis on hands-RQ OHDUQLQJ ´ ³,œG OLNH WR VHH XV ZRUN DV D ZKROH FRPPXQLW\ to
educate the whole child, focusing on both student academic needs but also character and social QHHGV DV ZHOO ´ ³:H QHHG WR have a full program of the arts, drama, languages, music, field studies ´
ÂłWe have a defined educational program that creates continuity between
demonstrated in our test results, everybody meets or exceeds standards. Our plan sets expectations for overachievement classes and is
Alignment on direction and identity
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well; but WE should define what that means, not the
³$ united community´ ³>:H QHHG @Parents to feel in control and choose KRZ GHHSO\ WKH\ H[SHULHQFH WKH VFKRROV ´
RSD Strategic Themes Report - October 2012
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³%LJ 5RFN´ 7KHPHV Accountable and consistent leadership Strengthen our community Clear and cohesive communication Financial stability Best practices curriculum Teaching excellence
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³%LJ 5RFN´ 7KHPHV and Sub-Themes
Accountable and consistent leadership
Strengthen our community
Consistency
Unite the clans
Accountability
Intimate, familiar environment within schools that builds character
Inspiring and Inclusive
Strengthen our connection to the community outside the school
Clear and consistent communication Feeling connected Clear marketing messages of what a Riverdale education means for students
Financial stability Concerns about financial stability of the District Improve our ability to plan and predict Financing the program we want
Best practices curriculum Diversity of opportunities Strong test scores
Teaching excellence Accountability Development and recognition
Alignment of curriculum across classes, specials and up and down grade levels Just do it!
RSD Strategic Themes Report - October 2012
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:KDW¶V 1H[W Steering Committee meets starting Wednesday, October 17 Presentation of draft Vision and Strategic Plan in November/early December for public feedback
RSD Strategic Themes Report - October 2012
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