LESD Superintendent Jodi Gunning & Studer Education Leader Coach Kathy Oropallo
We recently partnered with Litchfield Elementary School District #79 (LESD) to support their continuous improvement journey. At the beginning of this year, district leaders began meeting to create a strategic plan that would define a vision for success over the next 3-5 years.
“As our ‘A’ rated district launches into a new century of educational excellence, it is crucial that we plan for continued success. At a time when schools are constantly challenged by competing priorities, this process will give us the clarity required to hyper-focus on our greatest priorities.”
– Jodi Gunning, LESD Superintendent
Leader coach, Dr. Kathy Oropallo, has been working alongside LESD to develop the strategic plan.
“The strategic plan is not an everything list. It has to be the roadmap. What do we want to achieve and how do we get there? We want to create a living document that responds when we want it to respond.”
– Kathy Oropallo, Studer Education Leader Coach
Gathering Input
Litchfield leaders distributed baseline stakeholder surveys to gather information about employee engagement, parent satisfaction and student engagement. They also held focus groups for employees, parents, students and community members to provide input.
“Feedback and ideas from a variety of stakeholders will play a key role in our daily efforts to help all students achieve success in school and in life,” says superintendent Gunning. “We are proud to work closely with our community to ensure quality education for more than 11,000 students.”
Putting a Plan to Paper
After gathering stakeholder input, the district formed a steering committee. This committee evaluated the data and created a draft strategic plan. The plan was then made available for all stakeholders to review. With additional input from the draft, the committee developed a final plan for board approval. Throughout the process, the committee updated the school board on progress.
From survey planning and employee forums to town hall meetings and board presentations, the strategic planning process took about three months to complete.
“Change takes time to be sustainable and achieve excellence. The first phase is a lot of input and discovery. Once we get enough information, we will go into a steering committee. We want to make informed decisions. But to do this, we need to talk a lot of people.” – Kathy Oropallo, Studer Education Leader Coach
View the Litchfield Elementary School District #79’s strategic planning timeline and original news story here. 
Source: Phillip Haldiman, Independent Newsmedia | YourValley.net
