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Forest Lake board reviews strategic-plan progress, aims to restart 2025–26 planning
Summary
Superintendent and directors presented a multi-hour update on the district's 2020'25 strategic plan, reported rising enrollment and new instructional and career-readiness programs, and recommended facilitated community input to develop the next plan for 2026 onward.
Forest Lake Area Schools'board members heard a detailed update Thursday on the district's strategic plan that covers the 2020'25 period and on administrative proposals for developing a new plan for 2025'26 and beyond.
Dr. Massey, the district superintendent, told the board the district's fall enrollment was up. "Enrollment is currently at 5,587 students. That is 44 students over the enrollment number that we ended last year with," he said. He and administrators described curriculum and staffing initiatives, new and continuing literacy and intervention efforts, and career-readiness expansions designed to support college and workforce pathways.
The presentation summarized six focus areas from the existing plan: high-quality instruction; equitable learning opportunities; career and college preparedness; student well-being and safety; collaboration with families and community partners; and communications and outreach. Administrators reported several concrete steps taken under those focus areas since 2020: adoption of an elementary literacy framework and expanded professional development in the science of reading; creation and deployment of six instructional coaches (literacy, math and science); an "access aid" application anticipated to bring about $1.4 million to expand elementary interventions; a one-year MTSS grant to strengthen intervention fidelity; and middle- and high-school career-pathway work including Ranger Connect and paid internship opportunities for juniors and seniors.
Directors said the district has also expanded culturally responsive-practices work, implemented a consistent social-emotional curriculum (Second Step) across elementary grades and tracked implementation against office-referral data, and developed family-survey and communication improvements. Staff noted early-childhood curriculum adoption (Frog Street) and more centralized instructional review processes to align core resources with local standards.
Administrators recommended a deliberate, facilitated process to develop the next strategic plan rather than an ad-hoc rewrite. Board members asked for time to digest the report and asked administration to gather options and cost estimates for an independent facilitator, a list of stakeholder groups to include (business leaders, faith groups, parents, retired community members, students and staff), and input from the directors who presented the update about what to keep, change or remove in a new plan.
The board agreed to return the item for further discussion at an upcoming meeting so members and the public could review the packet and the presentation slides and respond with questions and suggestions.
