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WJCC survey shows increased staff awareness of Elevate '28; superintendent lays out transition priorities
Summary
The Elevate 28 stakeholder survey found increased staff understanding of the strategic plan and high reported belonging among staff, families and students; the superintendent then presented a transition report focused on student‑centered priorities, workforce readiness, mental health and phased reporting.
The Williamsburg‑James City school division reported the results of its Elevate 28 stakeholder survey and the superintendent presented a transition plan that he said will align actions to those results.
Cara Wall presented survey findings from 5,864 respondents, saying staff agreement that "students at their school feel like they belong" rose to 97%, families' agreement was 92% and students' was 91%. Wall also reported a large staff increase in awareness of the Elevate '28 strategic plan, from 71% in spring 2025 to 94% in fall 2025.
Wall described the survey administration: elementary respondents received links through classroom teachers, secondary students were emailed links and buildings were asked to designate time for students to respond if email access was limited. She said family and student participation declined year over year and that staff would use focus groups and a student voices tour to drill into areas with lower scores.
The superintendent then outlined a transition report built around three leadership drivers — "student centered, collaborative, and strategic" — and a set of priority action steps aligned to Elevate '28. Key items included accelerating literacy and numeracy work, creating a divisionwide "profile of a learner," expanded authentic and career‑ready learning opportunities, graduate action plans for every student and applications for JROTC programming. "I believe that answer ... lies in the 3 key words that I'll talk about, being student centered, being collaborative, and being strategic," the superintendent said.
On human capital and culture, the superintendent proposed implementing compensation study recommendations, reviewing and enhancing stipend programs, establishing staff wellness and professional learning focus groups, and improving recruitment. For safety and student supports, he proposed a KPI to measure extracurricular participation and convening stakeholders to recommend mental‑health supports.
Officials from the city and county praised the plan and urged clarity on program costs and legislative advocacy. Several officials suggested convening state delegates at a future joint meeting to coordinate education funding priorities in Richmond.
Next steps: staff will convene focus groups, proceed with phased implementation of the transition report and host a public webinar on Dec. 15; the superintendent said a first phase report will be shared in April 2027 work sessions and progress will be reported periodically.
