BELLVILLE — The Clear Fork Valley Local School District recently released a new five-year strategic plan with achievement, culture and transparency as its areas of focus.
School officials say the plan creates a shared vision to guide the district’s priorities, decision-making and growth through the coming years.
Clear Fork partnered with the Mid Ohio Educational Service Center to create the plan.
MOESC conducted stakeholder surveys, facilitated focus groups, met with key community and district stakeholders and led strategic planning work sessions with the treasurer, superintendent and board of education. These sessions were open to the public.
The planning support was offered for free, since Clear Fork is a client district of the MOESC, according to Supt. Cody Reese.
The board also analyzed local and state performance data and feedback gathered through in-person focus groups, according to a press released from the MOESC.
Reese said the board met with four focus groups — one group of parents, one of teaching staff, one of non-teaching staff and one of community members.
“It has been awhile since Clear Fork has engaged in strategic planning,” board president Brian Johnson. “The Clear Fork Board of Education is excited about the alignment of all four schools and the opportunities this plan creates to benefit the students of the Valley.”
The first goal area, achievement, focuses on strengthening academic outcomes and preparing students for future success.
District leaders said they will work with internal and external partners to look at course offerings and curriculum and ensure they prepare graduates for life after high school.
“We’re constantly looking at data, getting feedback from local chambers and whatnot, and seeing what are the needs in the region, in the area, and then what can we potentially look to implement that’s practical here at Clear Fork,” Reese said.
The plan also calls for creating opportunities that support individual student pathways and expanding access to academics, co-curricular programs and athletic opportunities to ensure students receive a well-rounded educational experience.
The second goal area, culture, states that the district will create an environment where all students feel respected, valued, and supported.
The district also seeks to strengthen relationships among students, families, staff, and community partners to promote a strong sense of belonging throughout the Clear Fork Valley community, Reese said.
The third goal area, transparency, reflects the district’s commitment to open and effective communication. Reese said improving two way communication and offering more chances for community feedback will be an important part of that goal.
“I think we do a fairly decent job of communicating, getting information out, but we don’t always do a great job of getting information back from the public,” he said.
The superinentended said he valued receiving both positive and constructive feedback from community members during the planning process.
“I didn’t know what to expect because I’d never been in a strategic plan process before, I really enjoyed it,” said Reese, who is in his second year as superintendent.
“After I went through the process, I’m like, ‘Well, I really feel like I know a lot about the district now,’ which was fantastic.”
While the plan is complete, Reese said the process of rolling it out is just beginning. Specific action steps have yet to be determined, but future projects and decisions will be guided by the strategic plan.
“That is our primary focus because (the strategic plan) came from the community, and we want to we want to make sure we carry their voice forward,” he said.
“We brought the district leadership team back. We’re in the preliminary steps of creating district-wide goals and aligning those district-wide goals part as the strategic plan rollout.”
