Superintendent advances strategic plan, sets goals; highlights graduation and attendance data

Superintendent Karen told the Longview School District board during a study session that the district will launch a stakeholder‑centered strategic planning process this school year, with student voice central to the effort. The district has contracted with Scholar First (Dr. Campbell) to guide the effort and set an ambitious timeline that targets board approval of a final plan by April 13.

Karen summarized the strategic‑planning structure: a district leadership writing group, a virtual core planning team of roughly 50 stakeholders (staff, students, families, community, board members) to vet drafts, and a larger instructional planning team of more than 70 educators who will develop research‑based practices tied to four goal areas. She said the process will produce a graduate profile, mission and promise statement, goals, performance targets and implementation practices. Major interim dates the board was given include a listening and learning day on Oct. 15 and a November 6 survey close; an educator planning day is scheduled for Jan. 14.

The superintendent framed the strategic plan as part of continuing district work rather than a one‑off effort. She said the plan will be a multi‑year roadmap and that implementation will be staged: “Some of the final plan will not be implemented in the first year; there’ll be things that need to be started and things that are farther out,” she said.

Karen also reviewed the objective performance measures she will track as superintendent. She told the board the district’s four‑year graduation rate is 83.7 percent; the district’s comprehensive high schools have a graduation rate of about 92 percent. She noted a misreporting in local media that combined different subgroup and program rates and urged careful public explanation: one article quoted a 73 percent rate for students experiencing homelessness but did not label the subgroup.

Attendance was identified as a second priority measure. Karen said attendance remains slightly below the statewide average (about a three‑percentage‑point gap) but that the district has narrowed that gap recently. She explained the state metric measures students attending 90 percent or more of school days and that the district’s work will emphasize universal strategies that raise overall attendance first before targeting tiered interventions for chronically absent students.

Board members asked about concrete next steps and public engagement. Karen said the core planning team will meet virtually three times and that board updates will be scheduled as the plan progresses. She recommended bringing key milestones to the board as agenda items so the public sees progress. The board did not vote on the strategic plan during the session; members asked staff to return with drafts and an engagement plan for public review and board consideration.

Separately, Karen presented her 2024–25 goals, which emphasize strategic‑plan leadership, continued focus on student and staff wellbeing, fiscal stewardship ahead of a possible capital levy renewal, and ongoing board collaboration. Several goals repeat work from her entry plan and prior year while others are new items tied to the strategic‑planning work.

No formal decisions were made; staff will return with planning materials, a public‑engagement schedule and draft plan language for subsequent board review.