The unveiling Tuesday of a set of strategic initiatives to guide St. Paul Public Schools fell flat with board members hungry for specificity.
“I want to see action. We’re all impatient for action,” board member John Brodrick said.
Superintendent Joe Gothard started as superintendent in July and began his strategic planning in November. Board members approved a framework for the plan in April and were expecting tangible details Tuesday night.
Gothard outlined 19 initiatives that touch on school culture, college and career readiness, and family and community engagement. Some of that work is new but much is already in place, he said.
Mary Vanderwert said the plan still is “at a pretty high level and general.”
Jeanelle Foster wants simpler language in the plan, which was written by school district leaders with help from a consultant.
Steve Marchese said he’s concerned the plan lacks clear, measurable objectives.
“There are some things that I expected to see in this that I’m not seeing,” he said.
Gothard said “action teams” will flesh out the initiatives and objectives with corresponding action plans by December. Those plans will feature metrics for measuring progress.
Gothard’s plan focuses on teaching and learning for a district whose test scores and student enrollment have been falling in recent years.
That’s a departure from former superintendent Valeria Silva’s Strong Schools, Strong Communities, which closed and reconfigured several schools with an emphasis on community schools over magnets.
Gothard said nine of his 19 initiatives will be put into action first.
Those include evaluating how well existing programs are working and dropping those that aren’t getting results.
Some of the savings would be used to boost the district’s middle schools, which Gothard said will be “a major focus.” The district loses many students to other schools after the fifth grade.
The other more immediate initiatives include:
- Getting every school to implement Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, a school climate framework. Silva had the same goal but many schools failed to follow through.
- Measuring and improving culture using staff, student and family input.
- Creating personal learning plans for each student, from preschool through 12th grade, supported by career-related curricula and experiences, and ensuring all secondary students get real-world experience, college credit and/or industry certification.
- Implementing culturally relevant practices in instruction.
- Getting more community input on district decisions and initiatives.
- Assessing the district’s relationships with outside organizations.
The board in July is expected to decide how much it wants to raise property taxes through a November referendum.
A recent phone survey of 600 registered voters showed that a new referendum worth around $60 million should pass.
It would replace a 2012 referendum that will bring in $44 million next year, about 8 percent of the district’s general fund.
