Strategic Plan underlies a ton of work happening at D21
Students practiced tennis on Tuesday, Sept. 12, above Kurtz Gym at The Dalles High School. The North Wasco County School District has finalized its 5-year strategic plan which includes facility improvements.
By Tom Peterson
Something is afoot within public schools in The Dalles.
You see and hear it in small things.
The District’’ Enrique Reyna, 29, of The Dalles mows the field at Thompson Track last April. Maintenance and upkeep of schools and sports facilities is outwardly looking good these days.
Such as, the schools are looking good. Upgrades to fences. Kurtz Gym has new heating and air. Lawn mowed.
And you hear things such as union negotiations between teachers, staff and the district went quickly and well last spring. Salaries saw a 7.3 percent cost of living raise to keep up with inflation.
Teachers and staff were given wellness hours on Wednesdays to deal with burnout and fatigue after two years of COVID.
The district applied for and received grants to help fund physical fitness and well-being for staff.
It's not all perfect. Hot days and no air conditioning put students and teachers in a sweat at the beginning of the year.
But it seems pretty good given the circumstances.
And then there is this.
North Wasco County School District had to fill 47 teaching positions over the summer - this came at a time when districts were struggling nationwide to fill positions. Oh, it also filled three vacant principal positions.
This occurred at a time when it seems impossible.
“It is hard to know exactly how many U.S. classrooms are short of teachers for the 2022-2023 school year; no national database precisely tracks the issue,” reported Hannah Natanson in The Washington Post on Aug. 4. “But state- and district-level reports have emerged across the country detailing staffing gaps that stretch from the hundreds to the thousands — and remain wide open as summer winds rapidly to a close.”
But D21 got the job done.
They have been able to fill every position, Superintendent Dr. Carolyn Bernal said last week.
But how?
Just wrap your mind around the scheduling of those interviews and the interview panels that had to be put together.
Bernal said the 5-year Strategic Plan for the District was a big part of it. The progressive document details five areas to improve during the next five years. Bernal said teaching candidates liked the vision and the direction of the district, and it was a vision they shared and could get behind.
It sets goals for Student Experience, Teaching and Learning, Community Engagement, Staffing and Facilities.
Raising the bar - These graduate outcomes above were used as the end goal for North Wasco County School District’s strategic plan. Stakeholders and steering committee members worked backward from these goals to understand what needs to happen at the district to instill these attitudes and skills in each student, which led to the current 5-year strategic plan.
Superintendent Dr. Carolyn Bernal
Bernal described it as a “living document” that acts as a guide and a vision of success for the students, families and staff of the district,” she said.
“We have the road map,” she said. “Now we get to focus on the how.”
It has taken months for stakeholders and steering committee members to refine and finalize the document, which included input from 450 people through a community-wide survey.
Within the plan are goals toward equity and Bernal said the district would seek to hold roundtables with high school and middle school students in safe environments who can speak to their experiences to better understand challenges and inform decisions.
In Regard to Facilities, Bernal said the board intends to put a school bond on the ballot this May for the construction of a new high school. She said the bond would be focused only on a new high school.
There is much to do, no doubt.
“We have the road Map,” she said. “Now we get to focus on the how.”
“What steps do we need to take to achieve these outcomes and how do we put that into action,” Bernal said.
The district’s leadership team will be presenting these next steps at School Board Meeting set for Sept. 22.
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