STRATEGIC PLANNING
UPDATE & SURVEY

Williamson County Schools has begun the process of developing a comprehensive seven year strategic plan.  Recently, five community meetings were held, seeking public input.  Those meetings were held at Brentwood, Centennial, Fairview and Page high schools and Spring Station Middle School.

The process included breaking into groups of 20 to 30 participants, and five topics of interest were discussed: Student Programming, Teacher Quality, Technology, Growth Planning and Finance.  More than 500 community members attended the sessions, and well over 1000 ideas were collected.  At the end of the sessions, participants were invited to "vote" for the ideas generated in their breakout rooms that had the highest priority for them.  After merging ideas from all meetings, the ones which received the highest priority, not in order, include:

• If a student lives five minutes from a school, let them go to school there.

• Ensure that all schools receive equitable funding, not some getting more than others, as well as equity across programming (e.g., band vs. football).

• "Activity Bus Program" (run buses again, after practices are over, so more kids can participate in after school activities).

• Consistent program offering across all schools.

• Stop rezoning the same neighborhoods.

• No "sacred cows" in zoning.

• 360 degree evaluations of teachers; transparency matters, publish results.

• Abolish tenure.

• Grandfather the entire family, not just the oldest student, when a family is rezoned.

• Give choice for family to stay at old school, when rezoning happens (even if it means no bus service).

• Go ahead and build "Oak View Middle" and Nolensville High now.

• Keep school programming all the same, so there is less incentive to change schools.

• Fix the feeder system and keep neighborhoods together.

• Develop a program to evaluate teachers every other or every three years.

• No mega schools; keep reasonable size.

• Consistency in quality of teacher training across district.

• Property tax increase, school board pressures commission for raise in property taxes.

• Complete land acquisitions now, not when the school needs to be opening.

• Coordination between county commission and school board.

• Foreign language in elementary schools.

• More stringent policies on feeder systems.

• Higher standards for entire county, compared on national rankings, not just in state.

• To get best teachers, pay should be more in line with state and nation.

• More/better partnerships with corporations and Columbia State.

• Videotape lessons so parents can watch at home.

• Teacher student ratio more consistent.

• Hire more local teachers.

• Explore community and corporate grants.

• Offer more online/web-based courses; share really good teachers between schools.

• Set up voucher system, for school choice, so the money goes to schools that work.

• Offer balanced calendar or year round alternative scheduling.

• Ideal class size is 15:1.

"We have a great start to building the foundation of our strategic plan," said Superintendent Dr. Mike Looney.  "We will continue to survey our stakeholders and continue to build on the process through meetings with teachers and civic and business leaders."

After the community meetings were held, the Board met in a planning session to review and reflect on the data required.

"Given the high level of community input the Board received, we were able to take those broad ideas and produce vision statements for the district," said Board Chairman Pat Anderson.  "We will continue to improve upon these statements as we continue the conversations with other segments of the community."

Below are the five vision statements developed by the Board:

Student Programs:

Williamson County Schools will offer high-quality, equitable student programming and facilities to produce graduates fluent in English and at least one foreign language and literate in the use of technology-in an environment that allows students the opportunity to maximize their development in academics, the arts and athletics.

Teacher Quality

Williamson County Schools will establish an organizational work environment where we will attract, develop and retain a diverse group of high quality teachers and where student performance and the teachers’ ability to build strong student relationships is the basis for defining/determining teacher success. 

Technology:

Williamson County Schools will prepare all students and teachers to maximize learning by fully integrating current technology into academic content to acquire, share and evaluate information, achieve media and technology literacy, and maintain a safe and ethical environment.

Growth Planning and Zoning

Williamson County Schools will proactively pursue partnerships with developers and governmental agencies to plan for growth and to site and build schools in a manner that maintains planning zone integrity, minimizes school transfers, and assures unbiased school zones and learning opportunities for all students.

Finance

Williamson County Schools will exhibit the highest degree of transparency and accountability in the use of resources.  In addition, we will pursue public and private funding sources to provide teachers and students with facilities, tools and resources necessary to become a district recognized nationally for excellence in academics, the arts and athletics.

Select this LINK to see all of the input from all of the strategic planning community meeting sessions.  An opportunity to provide input into the process is still available by participating in this SURVEY.