Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Jefferson SD 14J holds community workshop to shape five-year strategic plan
Loading...
Summary
District staff led a values-and-data workshop with board members, school staff and community participants to identify top values and data priorities (attendance, assessments and graduation); results and survey data will be presented at a May work session as the district crafts a five-year strategic plan.
Jefferson SD 14J convened a community workshop focused on developing a new five-year strategic plan, during which participants completed a values exercise and a data walk centered on assessment scores, attendance and graduation rates.
The presenter said she had been “tasked with helping to develop a new five-year strategic plan for the district” and led attendees through small-group activities that asked each table to choose top values, identify a data "bright spot" and a growth opportunity, and write a bridge statement linking a core value to a prioritized data area and a proposed action.
The exercise produced similar priorities across groups. A table representative said their top five values were “safety and security, community engagement, academic excellence, accountability, and respect,” with a bridge statement that because the group values safety and security, the district must “prioritize improving attendance by understanding the reason behind chronic absenteeism and strategizing on how to target those” concerns. Another table emphasized integrity and proposed prioritizing attendance by building relationships and trust with parents and students; a third table favored community engagement as a route to improving student achievement and parental involvement.
Chair Terry Mitchell praised the approach, calling the activity “a really, really good idea” for shaping goals and priorities. Several participants also thanked staff for visiting the three schools and running the same exercise there; one attendee said she was “disappointed that there’s not more participation” but expressed optimism the exercise could be “the beginning of something really, really good.”
The presenter explained that she will combine the workshop results with survey responses collected from parents, students, alumni and staff — noting that the district has collected survey data at each school and plans to close the survey at the end of the month — and will share consolidated results at an upcoming board work session (May 18). She said the administrative leadership team will use the compiled feedback to develop priorities, goals and strategies to bring back to the board and that the district aims to present a final strategic plan by the start of the 2026-27 school year.
Participants were reminded to visit six stations during the data walk covering elementary and middle school ELA and math, 5th/8th grade science, high school ELA/math/science (grade 11), graduation rates (4- and 5-year cohorts) and attendance. The presenter cautioned attendees that the data exercise was “not a gotcha” but rather a flashlight to identify strengths and opportunities; she also referenced that the state of Oregon will be reviewing assessment, attendance and graduation metrics under a recently referenced change identified in the meeting as “Senate Bill 141.”
Next steps: staff will synthesize tonight’s table notes and survey results, present the combined data at the May work session, and the board and interested community members and staff will review mission and vision statements and proposed priorities before leadership develops the draft plan for later board review.
There were no formal motions or votes at the workshop; the session was a planning and engagement activity to inform the district’s upcoming strategic-plan drafting process.
