Francis Howell R-III school leaders and board members used part of an Aug. 2 retreat to map how the district will turn strategic-plan goals on safety, climate and inclusion into action, administrators said.

Interim Superintendent Mark Delaney and board members discussed the district’s safety and security pillar, which lists performance targets including: ‘‘100% of students feel safe at school,’’ ‘‘100% of staff feel safe at work,’’ and full completion of physical safety audits and cybersecurity mitigation.

Delaney described a tiered approach for stakeholder engagement. He told the board that “tier 2” committees — working groups convened to study and recommend actions on particular problems — can be assembled more quickly and flexibly than formal, board-appointed “tier 1” committees. Those tier 2 groups could include students, parents, teachers and administrators and would analyze survey and climate data, recommend pilot practices and report back to the district for potential broader adoption.

Several board members urged attention to student voice and inclusion as part of safety work. Director Sarah said she wants a community-facing statement that expresses unity and the district’s commitments — distinct from policy language — and Director Carolee Owens proposed a ‘‘One Howell’’ framework that would create school-level and district-level work groups to surface local concerns and craft coordinated responses.

Board members and staff noted existing data sources. District staff said elementary and secondary climate surveys and a community roundtable held in the previous year provide baseline data the district can use immediately rather than starting new data collection from scratch. Directors asked administration to summarize that prior work and to provide a clear report of actions taken to date.

Board discussion covered these potential next steps:

- Use existing building-level climate surveys and the community roundtable data to prioritize early committee work.

- Form short-term, topic-specific tier 2 groups to study student safety, inclusion for students with disabilities, and student voice; those groups would report recommendations to administration and to the board’s pillar 4 (safety and climate) team.

- Consider a forward-facing, values-based statement or visible district signage (for example, a concise set of core values posted at school entrances) to communicate the district’s values publicly; staff were asked to draft options.

Board members also discussed equity of services across schools, calling for inventory and accountability to ensure widely shared access to programs and supports. Director Carole Owens said the district should examine whether all schools are receiving consistent resources and follow-up.

There was no formal vote; the board instructed administration to continue pillar-level work and to return quarterly updates on safety, climate and related action steps tied to the strategic plan.