By Donald Gilpin

More than 100 parents, community members, administrators, and staff have come together to begin the process that will culminate in August 2022 with a new strategic plan for the future of Princeton Public Schools.

“We have a great school district for most kids, and we want to make sure it’s a great district for all kids,” said PPS Board of Education President Dafna Kendal. “That’s what we know we have to work on, and that’s what we’re hoping the planning process will help guide us to do.”

In all-day sessions of the core planning team on April 19 and 20, more than 50 stakeholders analyzed data from recent surveys of different segments of the community, as well as perusing PPS’ standardized test scores, absenteeism information, and other data points.

The core planning team is expected to integrate feedback and perspectives of other teams involved in the planning and to lead the way in setting the direction for the district’s strategic plan. The core team is scheduled to meet three more times in the coming weeks.

The alignment team, comprised primarily of community leaders and BOE members, also met last week, and on Thursday, April 21, the 20 members of the instructional planning team spent a full-day session incorporating and expanding on work done by the core planning team earlier in the week.

A team of experienced facilitators from Performance Fact, Inc. is overseeing the strategic planning process and was scheduled to attend last night’s April 26 BOE meeting where PPS Superintendent Carol Kelley was scheduled to present a strategic planning update.

In an April 25 phone conversation Kelley, in her first year at PPS and her 10th as a school superintendent, discussed the strategic planning process, the eventual outcome of which will be “data-informed strategic priorities and goals,” she said.

“The most important work will occur afterwards when we are using that strategic plan to inform our day-to-day activities, to inform how we allocate resources, and, most importantly, to inform how we engage with the staff and the community around working together to pool our resources to make sure that we’re meeting the hopes and dreams of the community as identified by our strategic priorities,” Kelley noted.

Kelley was impressed with what she saw in the first week of planning. “What really was remarkable that I haven’t seen in other districts was the amount of passion and commitment to really unapologetically dig into the data and see what we can do to make the data look different the next time we go through the process,” she said.

She expressed optimism that the planning would produce positive results. “I have really high hopes regarding the process,” she said, “definitely from the standpoint of keeping our focus on student results and how we can look at the school system as a system and what we need to do more of or less of in organizational, leadership, and instructional practices.”

Among results that might emerge from the planning process Kelley mentioned organizational shifts that foster more communication and collaboration among staff, families, and community members, as well as more of a growth mindset.

“Just because a student group has not attained a certain level does not mean they won’t ever attain that,” she said. “We can shift from ‘we’re not there,’ to ‘we’re not there yet.’”

She emphasized the idea of Princeton schools as ”a collective learning community.”

Kelley offered some perspective on the value of planning. “Princeton is a fantastic school district,” she said. “It excels in so many areas, but planning is a practice that’s necessary for any organization. It helps us put things in place so that we are prepared for the future. You have to be very intentional. In any good relationship, folks are very intentional about what it is they’re doing.”

She continued, “The second thing I would say is that resources are not infinite. As good stewards in the community we are strategically using our resources in ways that can help us achieve the hopes and dreams of the individuals who live here. People have a lot of choices in terms of where they live and send their children to school.

“It is imperative for us to do a pause break, to listen to our students, to listen to our families and communities and hear what they have to say about where they want to be in the future … with the understanding that we may not all be doing the same thing, but we’re all rowing in the same direction.”

Kendal added, “Our school district is the pride of our community and our schools belong to everyone in the community. It’s always good to get feedback from the community about things we can do better and do differently.”