The Darien Board of Education spent the bulk of its Nov. 11 meeting on a fall strategic-plan update that outlined seven goal areas and identified several next steps for the superintendent and staff.

Superintendent (speaker 6) introduced the presentation and said the district intends to develop the next strategic plan internally rather than hiring an outside consultant: "we have the expertise here to do that. We don't need to engage an outside consultant." Dr. Fettigan (the presentation lead) then walked the board through the goals and early indicators.

Goal 1 (enhancing teaching and learning) highlighted rollout of a new K–3 literacy resource the board approved last spring, work on classroom observations and a focus on high-quality feedback for staff. Dr. Fettigan said the district is expanding EduPlanet so curriculum blueprints and scoping documents are visible to families and staff, noting that "By state statute, we have to have all scoping sequences for all courses and all grade levels completed by the end of the school year, and we're on track to do that."

Board members queried how teachers are adapting to the InterRead resource and the district’s professional-learning schedule. Dr. Fettigan said initial feedback was positive, coaches from HMH had worked with staff and the steering-committee model will bring grade-level teachers (including grade 3) into planning so that alignment extends beyond K–3.

Goal 2 addresses wellness, diversity and inclusion and embeds a previous diversity/inclusion report into the plan; the district has begun implementing a revised K–5 progress report and will use annual school-climate surveys to inform continuous-improvement efforts. The presentation flagged a universal screener for MTSS that the state previously funded but no longer does; the superintendent and staff said they will discuss costs during the budget process.

Goal 3 covers the district’s vision of the graduate and student success plans for grades 6–12. Staff said the district already uses Naviance for student planning but has underutilized capacity; Dr. Fettigan said the district will meet with a Naviance representative to maximize current functionality rather than immediately purchasing a new system.

Goal 4 focuses on professional capacity and retention, including classroom-based instructional coaching, micro-credentials and work by the Professional Development and Evaluation Committee (PDEC) to align professional learning with teacher goals.

Goal 5 covers systems to improve efficiency and communication. The district launched a redesigned website and made curriculum blueprints available on EduPlanet; the superintendent and staff also described a parent-university series (first session on K–3 literacy), a monthly newsletter and district emergency guides.

Goal 6 noted a board-approved comprehensive safety and security audit and a planned MMS study; the architects who conducted the study and a demographic study will present at the next board meeting. Goal 7 covered technology guidance, including careful consideration of AI, student-data privacy vetting and better use of Aspen to reduce paper mailings.

Board members asked the district to bring AI and technology guidance to curriculum-committee meetings and to include parents in discussions; several members suggested revisiting the "vision of the graduate" as the board updates the five-year strategic plan. Staff said more detail will be provided at curriculum-committee and budget meetings as the district determines timing and resource needs.

The board took no formal policy votes on the strategic-plan content at the meeting; the presentation generated follow-ups on the Naviance implementation, budget implications for a universal screener and the upcoming safety/security and demographic presentations.