Bringing Our Plan to Life

The Kirkwood School District Strategic Plan is a living document, one that will guide our work, our structures, and our financial decisions. Effective leadership is key to our efforts – in the classroom, through our schools, and at the district level. Regular and purposeful attention should be paid to organizational culture and effective pedagogy, with time dedicated to discuss, problem solve, and celebrate these topics at all levels – from the classroom to the Board Room.

Several themes emerged through our planning process that are worth noting.

• There is a clear desire for focus and a shared vision for Kirkwood School District.
• Meeting the individual needs of every child requires more work and smarter thinking than ever before. We must approach this work with a sense of urgency.
• Our greatest strength is our people. While already good, each recognizes the need to continue growing and get better for students.
• Autonomy is valued, at the school and classroom level. There is also, however, a clear desire for greater coherence and collaboration across the system.
• High quality professional learning is valued and we need more of it.
• As a system, we must identify and value additional measures of school success beyond standardized test scores and graduation rates.
• Educators across the system want a voice in our work. They also want to be held accountable, provided with meaningful feedback, and supported in their growth.
• Prior successes can be our biggest obstacle as we explore new and potentially better ways of schooling. It is difficult to abandon practices that have yielded success in the past.

Supplemental documents provide additional details and recommendations to support each Priority Objective and Action Item, as well as possible data tools to measure and track our success. Icons are included for each objective, indicating the Future-Ready Skills that most prominently align with the work. Resources, articles, and supporting documents will be made available online and updated regularly. Responsibilities and timelines for each task will be assigned on a year-by-year basis, depending on priorities for the given year.