ISD 191 unveils next-year priorities and hires Teamworks to lead strategic planning

Dr. Cheryl Daniels presented the district’s draft priorities for the 2026–27 school year and recommended that the board engage Teamworks, a Minnesota-based consulting firm, to lead the district’s strategic-planning process.

Daniels said the priorities emerged from an iterative, collaborative process that included executive and principal leadership, building leadership teams and the BEA executive team. “Clear is kind,” she told the board, describing the effort to simplify and communicate the district’s work. She said the priorities are grounded in the district strategic roadmap and aligned to the budget she proposed earlier this year.

The priorities bundle technical work (for example a literacy screener for students not reading at grade level, use of the district data warehouse Edge of Climber and targeted math curriculum review) with a set of district-level adaptive initiatives (AI guidance, the new learning-coach model and continued facilities planning). Daniels said the learning-coach model will include 11 hires already made and additional interviews to staff the new structure, and that the district will sequence work across years depending on capacity and legislative requirements.

Julie Babe, a senior consultant with Teamworks, told the board the firm will run a classroom-to-boardroom process that begins with focus groups and culminates in a three-year continuous-improvement plan. She described the firm’s core tools — vision cards, action cards and a governance plan — and said the work typically takes six to nine months. “We set you up with a system for continuous improvement, not just a static plan,” Babe said, adding that the process emphasizes stakeholder voice from students, staff, families and community partners.

Directors praised the collaborative drafting and asked for clearer prioritization. Several members urged the administration to tier work into year-by-year goals, to build explicit checkpoints for data and course corrections, and to create consistent, accessible communications for parents and staff. Director Saxi asked whether Teamworks was replacing prior internal efforts; Daniels said Teamworks is a facilitator and that much of the district’s existing work will be reused and aligned rather than replaced.

Next steps: the administration plans a co-design meeting with Teamworks this summer and a formal kickoff early in the fall. Board members asked that the administration return with a clarified timeline and a tiered list of year-one priorities before finalizing any contract-related actions.

The board heard the presentation during the May 28 meeting and discussed next steps; the board did not adopt a contract on the spot and asked that policy and scope language be refined for future action.