- The School District of Palm Beach County
- Strategic Plan Development
Strategic Plan Development
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The School District of Palm Beach County developed its next strategic plan, that outlines the District’s top priorities over the next three to five years and provides a collective focus for us as an organization.
All of the resources created around the development of the strategic plan are centralized here so that students, parents, community organizations, District employees, and other stakeholders can see the development process and how it unfolded.
Timeline for Strategic Plan Development
The journey toward the new strategic plan started in March 2021. The following timeline outlines how the process unfolded to have a final, Board-approved plan in place before the first day of the 2022-2023 school year.
Stakeholder Engagement Plan
Feedback collected from students, parents, community organizations, District employees, and other stakeholders was used to inform the development of draft goals and associated measures for the new strategic plan.
A stakeholder engagement subcommittee composed of internal District staff representing multiple departments has created an engagement plan that includes a Phase 1 Survey for collecting community input as well as Phase 2 Focus Groups. The stakeholder engagement plan was designed to provide individuals with multiple outlets for feedback, and a high level overview of the plan can be seen below.
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Pre-Work
Phase 1
February - April 2021EVALUATE
Evaluar - Evalye - AvaliarStart, Stop, Continue Reflection Activity using current strategic plan:
- School Board
- District Staff
- School-based Employees
- Community*
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Design
Phase 2
May2021 - June 2022VALIDATE
Validar - Valide - ValidarGoals and associated measures drafted by Steering Committee based on feedback collected during Phase 1; drafts shared with focus groups and District leadershipto inform needed revisions:
- School Board
- District Staff
- School-Based Employees
- Community*
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Implementation
Phase 3
July 2022 and BeyondCULTIVATE
Cultivar - Devlope - AperfeiçoarDraft themes and priority student outcomes based on targeted feedback collected from District leadership, parents, students, and staff; shared revised themes and priority student outcomes with School Board for approval (August 2022).
Engage all stakeholders in implementation efforts.
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*The term Community is used to include parents, students, business partners, non-profits, municipalities, elected officials, etc.
Project Updates to the School Board
Stakeholder Input
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Phase 1 Feedback Survey
The School District of Palm Beach County Phase 1 Feedback Survey was open from Monday, March 22 - Friday, April 9, 2021. It was available in multiple languages, including English, Spanish, Haitian Creole, and Portuguese. We encouraged all students, parents, District employees, and Palm Beach County community members to complete their survey before it closed on April 9.
A summary of results can be seen below or by accessing this Feedback Survey link. As a reminder, Phase 1 input will be used by the Strategic Plan Steering Committee to inform drafts of potential goals and associated measures for consideration as part of the next strategic plan.
Phase 2
Focus GroupsThe School District of Palm Beach County organized Phase 2 Focus Groups in late May of 2021 to provide students, parents, District employees, and Palm Beach County community members with an additional opportunity to provide feedback on the goals and measures once they were drafted.
Student and Community InputStudent Engagement - During the student engagement, we visited 6 schools over two days. Approximately 180 students engaged in this activity; averaging 25-30 students from each school. We used several interactive, facilitated techniques to ensure their voices were heard. The student engagement took place on March 24-25, 2022.
Students interacted with questions aligned to Educate, Affirm, and Inspire:
• During your time in Palm Beach schools, what has supported your success in this area?
• What things have gotten in the way of your success in this area?
• If you had a younger cousin entering 1st grade next year and you could create the best experience for them during their next 12 years of school, what would you change or create for them within this area?
Thought Exchange - We utilized a proprietary tool called Thought Exchange to solicit stakeholder input on the draft strategic plan framework. This tool allowed people to input their thoughts, and then rate the thoughts entered by others on a 1-5 scale with 5 being the greatest level of agreement. The system randomized the order in which thoughts appear, so the latest thoughts had the same chance of being viewed as the first thoughts. The Thought Exchange survey was available from March 29-April 12, 2022.
Steering Committee Meetings
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District leaders cannot—and should not—develop the next strategic plan in isolation of the surrounding community. The Board has also expressed the need to engage the community in the development of our next strategic plan as much as possible. This is why the District has created the Strategic Plan Steering Committee composed of individuals representing students, parents, school-based staff, community organizations, and other District employees to give stakeholder representatives an active role in shaping the District’s priorities moving forward (in accordance with School Board Policy 1.06)
The Strategic Plan Steering Committee plays a critical role in drafting the goals and associated measures included as part of the next strategic plan, while also serving as ambassadors for the process to ensure transparency across the District. In order to have a Board approved plan in place by the start of the 2021-22 school year, the Strategic Plan Steering Committee will meet monthly on the dates and times listed below.
Monday, March 22, 2021
3:30-5:00p.m.
Meeting Video
Powerpoint Presentation
Example Plans
JamboardFriday, April 16, 2021
2:30-4:00 p.m.
Meeting Video
Powerpoint Presentation
Root Cause Analysis
Progress Monitoring Data
JamboardWednesday, May 12, 2021
4:00-5:30 p.m.
Meeting Video
Powerpoint Presentation
Mission, Vision, Equity Word Cloud
Jamboard
Goals, Measures, Target Handout
Phase 1 Feedback Survey FindingsThursday, May 20, 2021
4:00-5:30 p.m.
Meeting Video
Powerpoint Presentation
JamboardWednesday, June 9, 2021
4:00-5:30 p.m.
Meeting Video
Powerpoint Presentation
JamboardTuesday, July 13, 2021 4:00-5:30 p.m. - (CANCELED)
Thursday, August 5, 2021 3:00-4:00 p.m.All meetings are broadcast live on the District’s YouTube channel and a listening only option is available so that all members of the community can keep track of the Steering Committee’s progress along the way if they so choose. Check the SDPBC Calendar for more information on how to access each meeting as a member of the public.
In addition, all Steering Committee meetings are recorded. A link for each meeting recording will be posted above.
Steering Committee Membership
The Strategic Plan Steering Committee is composed of 37 individuals representing students, parents, community organizations, teachers, principals, regional offices, and major District divisions. Over the course of the next six months (March - August 2021), the Steering Committee will work together to draft goals and associated measures for recommendation as part of the District’s next strategic plan. More information on how stakeholder feedback collected during Phase 1 and 2 of the engagement plan will be utilized to inform the work of the Steering Committee can be seen below.
Virtual Community Meetings
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During these community meetings, Board Members will connect directly with the communities they serve to give important updates related to the District's next strategic plan and equity-related efforts. Meetings will be up to one hour in length with time for Q&A. See below for meeting dates, times, and registration links.
Click the following links to see which board member represents your child's school or your area of residence.
Community Meeting Presentation
Presentación en Español - Video
Prezantasyon an Kreyòl - Video
Previous Meetings
District 4 - Erica Whitfield
Thursday, 4/22/2021 at 5:00 p.m.
Watch meetingDistrict 3 - Karen Brill
Monday, 4/26/2021 at 6:15 p.m.
Watch meetingDistrict 7 - Debra L. Robinson, M.D.
Tuesday, 4/27/2021 at 6:15 p.m.
Watch meetingDistrict 6 - Marcia Andrews
Wednesday, 4/28/2021 at 5:00 p.m.
Watch meetingDistrict 2 - Alexandria Ayala
Wednesday, 4/28/2021 at 6:15 p.m.
Watch meeting
Please note Board Members from Districts 1 and 5 opted not to host a Community Meeting during the month of April. Similar content was covered during all offered meetings regardless of the Board Member hosting, so you may watch any of the recordings above to learn more about the District's next strategic plan and equity-related work.