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Consultant Bellwether outlines draft graduate profile and community advisory role for CPS strategic plan
Summary
Bellwether updated the board on moving from a current-state assessment to strategy development, reported a new community advisory committee, and said the strategic plan will anchor on a graduate profile and intended impact with five goal areas; board members asked for broader representation and examples of scalable 'bright spots.'
Bellwether presented the district’s strategic‑planning transition on May 18, telling the Cincinnati Public Schools board that phase 1 (assessing the current state) is wrapping and phase 2 (defining a four‑year strategic direction) is starting.
The consultancy outlined two central anchors: a CPS graduate profile — the long‑term statement of what the district wants students to know and be able to do — and a shorter-term intended impact statement that will frame measurable 4‑year goals. Bellwether identified five emerging goal categories: academic success across grade levels and contents; postsecondary access and success; culture and engagement; talent (school‑based and central office); and finance and operations.
Bellwether said it recruited a 16‑member community advisory committee comprising business, philanthropic and higher‑education partners and would engage the advisory group in June–July working sessions to react to draft priorities. Consultants told the board that reviewers flagged opportunities to improve transparency, build trust with neighborhood stakeholders, and present a credible financial story that could support a future levy.
Board members asked about the committee’s composition and called for broader neighborhood, faith and higher‑education representation; they also asked whether Bellwether would identify district ‘bright spots’ and national comparators to replicate. Bellwether said its work would surface model schools and promising practices and would develop measurable options for the board to consider.
The district and consultants said the strategic plan and financial scenarios would be refined through summer working sessions, and the board subsequently amended a superintendent evaluation goal to require board approval of a multiyear strategic plan by Aug. 3, 2026. If that plan recommends a new‑money levy, the board asked that the plan show specifically how new funds would be deployed and how those investments would improve student outcomes.
What’s next: Bellwether will present interim reports and a draft of the graduate profile and intended impact in June. The board asked the administration and consultants to provide clear evidence of how proposed priorities and intended investments connect to measurable student outcomes before supporting a levy recommendation.
