Using Community and Career-Centered Strategic Planning to Transform K-12 Education and Enhance Relevance, Equity, and College/Career Awareness
Written by: Dr. Andrew Melin
There has been a major focus in Indiana, in large part due to the Indiana Department of Education’s focus on its Graduates Prepared to Succeed and Rethinking High School initiatives, on elevating work-based learning experiences for students, establishing high value credentials of currency, developing career pathways for students, and redefining high school graduation requirements.
At CIESC, we have been engaged in supporting this work since receiving the IDOE’s 3E grant a couple of years ago. Through the grant, CIESC recruited seven Indiana school districts to engage in a comprehensive and transformational college and career readiness framework in partnership with Ford Next Generation Learning (Ford NGL). Ford NGL is a community-connected transformation initiative of the Ford Motor Company Fund, the philanthropic arm of the Ford Motor Company. The seven school districts who have been working through the framework are:
- Fort Wayne Community Schools (FWCS)
- Whitley County Consolidated Schools (WCCS)
- Batesville Community Schools (BCS)
- MSD of Warren Township (MSD Warren)
- Hamilton Southeastern Schools (HSE)
- Hamilton Heights School Corporation (HHSC)
- Mill Creek Community Schools (MCS)
All seven districts, which represent rural, suburban, and urban school districts, are working through a comprehensive college and career transformational framework that will impact all students K-12. FWCS and WCCS have already completed their portrait and master plan work and have begun implementation, while BCS, HSE, HHSC, MCS, and MSD Warren will complete their master plans by the end of this school year and begin implementation next school year.
An invaluable aspect of the framework is to build a coalition of internal and external stakeholders who develop or review a district portrait of a learner/graduate, and a master plan that will not only incorporate the knowledge, skills, attributes and experiences in each district’s portrait, but also establish relevant career pathways, work-based learning experiences, and credentials of currency.
“Any district engaging in strategic planning needs to make sure there is a diverse and substantial group of students involved in the portrait, plan, and implementation components.”
Perhaps the most critical stakeholder group who needs to be highly engaged in this work are students. Any district engaging in strategic planning needs to make sure there is a diverse and substantial group of students involved in the portrait, plan, and implementation components. School districts can and should be student-centered, but to truly meet the needs of all students, student voice must be consistently honored.
“All Means All”
A priority component of the framework is embedding equity within the culture and system that is created. In essence, the district’s master plan must focus on providing meaningful academic and college/career experiences to each student.
In fact, when the 3E grant was initially implemented, the district leads from all seven districts met and agreed on the project’s core values and one of those values was “All means All.” The district’s portrait and master plan must address the needs of each of the district’s students. This concept is easy for people to understand, but accomplishing that objective takes a strategic and intentional approach of which all district stakeholders must participate and be accountable.
“EmpowerED and TransformED”
Even though grant funding ends this summer, all seven 3E districts plan to continue with the Ford NGL model into implementation. Because not every district may be ready or interested in the Ford NGL model, CIESC has created its own EmpowerED and TransformED Strategic Planning Model. This model will have a similar framework to the Ford NGL model; however, it may be a better fit for a district. The framework is as follows:
- There will be a baseline readiness audit involving internal and external district stakeholders to determine district strengths and opportunities.
- A district leadership team will be formed and a comprehensive group of internal and external stakeholders will be identified and invited to participate in consensus workshops to determine the district’s vision, to create or review a portrait of a learner, and to develop a strategic plan embedding the portrait into the district’s systems and culture.
- Communication, accountability, and sustainability plans will be incorporated into each district’s strategic plan.
CIESC coaches will facilitate the process and other existing CIESC programs and services will be incorporated into each district’s plan as appropriate. The EmpowerED and TransformED Strategic Model will be presented to CIESC’s board in May for implementation as early as this summer.
Traditionally, school districts have honored and recognized high achieving students, while also providing appropriate support to struggling students. Although this approach is perfectly acceptable, the students in the middle, who are not high achieving or struggling, often get little or no attention. This group of students can be referred to as “backbone” students, because they are reliable and respectful, but do not get much attention from educators.
“It is critical for school districts to create, implement, and be accountable for a culture and system that will truly meet the academic, social, and post-secondary interests of every student.”
Whether a district chooses the Ford NGL or EmpowerED and TransformED framework, it is critical for school districts to create, implement, and be accountable for a culture and system that will truly meet the academic, social, and post-secondary interests of every student. The system must not only meet the needs of high achieving and struggling students, but also meet the needs of “backbone” students.
“Strategic Plan Implementation Keys”
- Consistent review by stakeholders on at least a quarterly basis to review progress and make modifications as needed.
- Embedding college and career information and experiences in the daily curriculum by teachers.
- Appropriate work-based learning experiences for elementary, middle and high school students identified and facilitated by teachers, counselors, and/or career coaches.
- High school counselors meet with students in groups and individually at least twice per year to not only provide college and career guidance, but also to truly get to know the students on their caseload so they can help students determine their “best fit” post-secondary option. This will require administrators to prioritize counselor time to accomplish this objective and alleviate counselors doing quasi-administrative tasks.
- Provide parents with constant information relevant to student progress and career pathways and work-based learning experiences relevant to their child’s passions, skills, and interests.
- Community organizations are fully engaged in the PK-12 system to provide support with time and resources to enable all students to have consistent awareness, experiences, and engagement opportunities.
Another important component of an “All means All” strategic plan is to develop a comprehensive career coaching system. Although there is a tendency to put this responsibility fully on school counselors who are definitely a critical contributor, career coaching is a team sport. Ensuring each student’s success is not the job of any one district job classification. It is the responsibility of teachers, counselors, administrators, and community leaders, and should be integrated into any district’s strategic plan.
Becoming an “All means All” district starts with the recruitment of a diverse group of internal and external district stakeholders who come to consensus on the portrait of a learner/graduate and a master plan. Plan implementation must be strategic and intentional and include consistent monitoring of progress and accountability for all stakeholders that leads to meeting the needs of all students.
“All means All” requires all school district stakeholders to be engaged and accountable to develop the knowledge, skills, attributes, and experiences each student needs to have success in school, career, and life. When school districts and communities are able to accomplish this transformational goal student learning will benefit from increased relevance and college/career awareness, and district and communities will prosper by equitably serving and supporting all students.
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