The board of trustees discussed the strategic plan and thoughts collected so far during its workshop meeting Sept. 5.
Some context
PfISD is partnering with N2 Learning to develop the strategic plan, Chief Communications Officer Tamra Spence said. The planning process will take approximately five months.
“Obviously with our new superintendent change we were holding off until Dr. Shepherd got here to help kind of guide us through that process,” Spence said.
The planning process includes collecting feedback from staff, students and community members, which will be accomplished through Shepherd's 100-day entry plan and thought exchange, Spence said.
The other planning process component includes a visioning task force, which Spence said will include 50-60 staff, parents, students and other community members who will meet twice a month through the end of this year.
The task force will hone in on the feedback received from the thought exchange, and provide its findings and directions to the board of trustees to help build out the strategic plan.
Diving in deeper
Almost 4,000 community members have submitted ideas on the thought exchange, Spence said. Of those, about 2,500 thoughts have been submitted with 70,000 ratings. Participants are able to join the exchange and rate other thoughts without entering their own.
“It’s not just entering your thought and then finding the most thoughts,” Spence said. “It’s allowing people to rate others—things they hadn’t even thought of. ... Rather than it being the person with the one loudest voice, or the people that we are used to listening to, it allows everyone to go in and rate those and see what’s really floating to the top.”
Using artificial intelligence, the thought exchange updates every half hour to compile a summary of key areas to focus on based on the recent thoughts and ratings submitted. This summary is accessed by district officials.
During the workshop meeting, the summary included:
- Safety concerns, particularly at Cele Middle School
- Teacher pay and retention, with many citing teacher burnout and cost of living
- Communication gaps both in the classroom and between administration staff
- Better support for special education and Section 504 students
- More inclusive and equitable practices across the district
- Enhanced community involvement
Shepherd said the thought exchange, which can be accessed here, will be extended a few more weeks into October.
Once the task force provides its findings and directions to the board in January and gets board approval, the results will be sent to the district’s cabinet leadership team.
“Similar to how we talked about the last time we started this process with [former superintendent] Dr. [Doug] Killian, it will give the board something to approve a broad direction that you want the district to move in,” Spence said. “Then the cabinet will take that and come up with actions every year that we adjust based on what’s happening in our district and the world.”
