SANDPOINT — Based on input from the community, a strategic planning committee has developed a set of five broad priorities for the Lake Pend Oreille School District to work on over the next five years.

The strategic planning process began in October in an effort to drive future decisions of the district by outlining needs and goals over the short- and long-term. The first steps in the process included developing a strategic planning committee and seeking public input, followed by a review of that input by the committee.

"We've definitely had a thorough and well vetted process thus far," said LPOSD Superintendent Shawn Woodward.

In addition to 70 people who participated in the Lake Pend Oreille School District's strategic planning community meetings in January, nearly 1,200 people completed an online survey. Of those who responded to the survey, 401 identified as a parent or guardian of a student in the district, 248 were students, 211 staff members, 111 parents who are also staff members, and 198 community members.

The following are broad priority areas to be addressed over the next five years. The priority statements were developed based on input from stakeholder groups via the public meetings and the online survey.  

- Ensure academic success for every student. Examples include expanding on career track/work readiness opportunities for students, as well as college track opportunities; providing rigorous, relevant and effective curriculum and assessments; and continually improving the implementation of research-based instructional practices.

- Provide safe and innovative learning environments. Examples include providing well-maintained, safe, and modern schools; and developing social-emotional supports for students to foster physical, intellectual and social development — such as bullying and suicide prevention programs.

- Recruit, train, and retain highly effective personnel. Examples include ensuring high-quality professional development programs; increasing effectiveness of orientation and mentoring programs; and providing positive working environment and competitive compensation.

- Utilize resources effectively and be fiscally responsible. Examples in expanding on securing grant funding to support Strategic Plan; demonstrating linkage between annual budget, strategic plan, and educational priorities; and creating opportunities for educating the public on budgeting process.

- Engage the communities. Examples include increasing community partnerships; providing meaningful two-way communication systems for parents; and improving communication with all stakeholders.

The committee is also considering various metrics to determine the effectiveness of LPOSD as a school district over the next five years. The metrics considered include state assessment data, SAT data, high school graduation rate, perception survey data, MAP assessment data, go on rates, career-technical education industry certifications earned by students, number of students enrolled in advanced placement or dual credit classes, number of students engaged in authentic work internships, and percentage of students passing the work readiness exam.

The next steps, Woodward said, include getting more community input, including a chance for people to go online and review the strategic priorities and give feedback. Upon board approval, Woodward said district staff will be developing action plans over the next several months corresponding to each priority area. Once the board approves, the committee will move on to action planning for each of the five priority areas, and how to approach each one over the next five years.

"The good thing is we already have a lot of ideas for each of those priority areas, and each of those ideas we have began by reviewing our survey data and our engagement meeting data," Woodward said. "There were lots of specific ideas for improvement and ideas for moving forward."

He said the committee will review that data again, reviewing feedback and ideas from the community as well as the ideas from within the committee. Most of the action planning will be done throughout the summer months, he said.

Mary Malone can be reached by email at mmalone@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @MaryDailyBee.