Board hears strategic-plan committee updates; mental-health annual report moved to fall 2026

Board members received updates from six strategic-plan committees on Feb. 10 and voted to move the annual Strategy 4 report (student and staff mental health and wellness) to the fall of 2026 to allow time to select a consistent risk-assessment tool and align data timing.

Putnam Jackson, assistant superintendent of teaching and learning, briefed the board on Strategy 1 (academic achievement), citing work on a professional-development measurement instrument, increases in pre-K enrollment, integration of senior graduation portfolios into individual plans of study and ongoing efforts to address chronic absenteeism using Panorama data.

Donna Osborne, principal of Oak Lawn Elementary and chair of Strategy 2 (culture, climate and equity), said the committee focused this year on bullying prevention, reporting methods and staff training; she cited Character Strong as a districtwide social-emotional learning curriculum that committee members credited with improving staff and student understanding of bullying behaviors.

Dawn Gresham, director of special services and chair of Strategy 3, summarized completed targets including IEP implementation, transitions and professional learning. She described recommendations for facilities (adding ADA-accessible door buttons and family restrooms) and work to standardize classroom-type names across the district to ease transitions.

Lou Anne Sparks, director of alternative learning and chair of Strategy 4, told the board the committee is prioritizing selection of a districtwide student-risk-assessment tool and consistent districtwide response protocols. Sparks said timing of available reports (Panorama, Skyward and district discipline/attendance reports) complicates producing a single, reliable annual report in June, and recommended either restructuring the reporting timeline or separating staff and student pieces. After discussion the board moved the Strategy 4 report date to the fall of 2026 to allow the committee time to finalize tools and data collection; the motion passed 7-0.

Burke Jones, director of operations and chair of Strategy 5 (facilities and partnerships), said athletics representatives provided detailed facility needs (expanded courts, additional wrestling rooms, larger weight rooms, and shared baseball/softball complexes) and that the boundary/capacity/master plan is now projected to conclude around September 2026 rather than the original 2025 timeline.

Becky Mader, assistant superintendent of human resources and chair of Strategy 6, said the district launched targeted digital recruitment campaigns with Grey Media Group and is working on new recognition programs and employee-engagement follow-up; the committee will analyze employee-survey data for action steps to bring back in June.

Board members asked committees to return with clear timelines and tool recommendations; administrators said they would coordinate timing so data sets align with the revised reporting date.