- Wallingford-Swarthmore School District
- Envisioning Our Strategic Plan
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Greetings, WSSD Community,
Welcome to the online home of our strategic plan. This section provides information and resources related to the plan, opportunities to get involved, and updates on plan implementation.
It is our hope that through the strategic planning process and resultant strategic plan, we will collectively forge a path that continues to elevate Wallingford-Swarthmore (WSSD) not only as a destination of choice for families but also as a premier K-12 institution in the country. Our community will achieve this goal by building on our strengths, addressing critical areas for growth, and developing a plan to align our goals, dreams, and ambitions moving forward.
Our District has a rich, vibrant history. When Wallingford-Swarthmore School District was established in 1971, as a result of the state-ordered merger between Nether Providence School District and Swarthmore School District, it drew on its grounding principles not only to continue the work of excellence but also to brightly imagine and to collaboratively forge the path ahead. Together, we will continue to define and write the story of who we are and who we aspire to be as a district and as a community. Indeed, our school district, built on over 130 years of foundational values that have positioned our district in a place of excellence in the past and present, is most certainly destined for greatness in the future.
In 2022, in collaboration with every member of our community and through a partnership with Bloom Planning Consultants, we launched our Strategic Planning process. The first phase of this process, the Discovery Phase, draws on the voices of our entire community. During the course of last year, we heard your voices through individual and group meetings, surveys, interviews, and town halls. Through the three in-depth audits: curriculum, communications, and equity, we received 4,430 surveys, reviewed more than 700 documents and artifacts, conducted over 120 classroom visits, and held approximately 200 focus groups and interviews. The collection of community feedback and data enabled us to connect common threads and glean a collective voice around key focus areas. The Strategic Plan is informed further by the 2022-2025 Comprehensive Plan and the Special Education Plan.
As a result, these focus areas have emerged:
- Teaching, Learning, & Innovation
- Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging
- Culture, Community, and Communications
- Wellness & Social/Emotional Competencies
- Infrastructure & Finance
Importantly, these areas of focus are not binding as we consider what additional themes could present themselves as we move to the next phase. They do, however, provide an opportunity to ground our work thus far.
We have scheduled these meetings with our various stakeholders, staff, families, and community members at different times and on both weekdays and weekends to give as many individuals as possible an opportunity to be active participants in the Strategic Plan. We intend to work in both small and large groups to solicit your feedback and gather your input.
At the January 2023 Community Meetings, we began soliciting interest and forming sub-committees. These sub-committees will make recommendations and decisions related to how the strategic plan will be put into action. If you are interested in being considered to serve on an action-oriented sub-committee this spring (2023), we hope you were able to attend one of the two January Community Meetings.
Our success moving forward on this path to transformation will thrive with the contributions made by all of you. It is my conviction that the success of this journey will not be possible without your support and active participation. I am not a proponent of the notion of “buying in”; instead, I invite you to “build in” by becoming an integral part of the Strategic Plan process, by sharing your voice and your vision for our school district, and by investing in the process. The WSSD Strategic Plan is OUR plan, and for it to be relevant, meaningful, and stand the test of time, we all have to "build in."
Dr. Wagner Marseille,
Superintendent
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June 13th, 2023
Good afternoon,
This update focuses on our Strategic Plan Pathways.
After an organization determines its vision, it next determines how its vision can become real. These are called Strategic Plan Pathways. Using the WSSD Vision for Impact Statement and findings from the 2021-2022 districtwide audits of Equity, Curriculum, and Communications, our FIVE Strategic Plan Pathways have emerged.
- Pathway #1 - Diversity, Equity & Belonging
- Pathway #2 - Teaching, Learning & Innovation
- Pathway #3 - Culture, Community & Communication
- Pathway #4 - Wellness & Social-Emotional Competencies
- Pathway #5 - Infrastructure & Finance
Each of these Pathways includes a description of what the Pathway means in WSSD. This is called a Statement of Intent, which, similar to the Vision for Impact, describes what we, as a District, want to be.
Each Statement of Intent also has three to four action steps. The action steps will be highlighted in a future update.
Our next topic: Strategic Plan Action Steps
Have a wonderful afternoon!
Kind regards,
Jim Conley
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Dr. James Conley
Assistant Superintendent
Wallingford-Swarthmore School District -
May 22nd, 2023
Good afternoon everyone,
Our strategic planning is entering an exciting phase where priorities are being determined and decisions are beginning to be made.
As a learning organization, we are committed to keeping you up-to-date as decisions are being made over the next few weeks and months. To that end, I will be sharing brief overviews of important information related to strategic planning with you so that you remain informed of our progress.
Your voice and perspective continue to be invaluable to this process. That written, if you have questions or would like to know more, you can connect with your building principal, with a Director, or with me.
This week’s topic: Finalized Vision for Impact Statement
During the March Professional Learning Day, educators from each building and from each department shared their perspectives on what should be included in the District’s Vision for Impact Statement. Staff perspectives, along with the perspectives from sixteen (16) additional community and administrative sessions, informed the final WSSD Vision for Impact Statement. This WSSD Vision for Impact Statement is a description of who we want to be that will guide our work and decision-making throughout the strategic planning process and beyond.
As always, if there are ways that you would like to be involved in any aspect of our process, please reach out to me.
Our next Strategic Plan topic: Strategic Plan Pathways
Thank you for all that you do!
Kind regards,
Jim Conley
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Dr. James Conley
Assistant Superintendent
Wallingford-Swarthmore School District -
March 29th 2023 Update
Hello Wallingford-Swarthmore School District Families,
I am reaching out to express my most sincere appreciation for everyone who has contributed to our strategic planning process. Most specifically, I wanted to extend a thank you to those community members who joined us for our Strategic Plan Community Input Meetings on March 11th and March 16th at Strath Haven Middle School.
As we move into the next stage of strategic planning, we are forming a representative, district-wide team of educators and community stakeholders to guide the pathway development phase of our strategic plan. We currently have about three dozen community members and some district educators who expressed interest in becoming more deeply involved in the work.
Before we begin constituting the WSSD Planning Team, we want to ask one final time if there are others interested in participating, especially now that we have a tentative sense of our dates. If individuals wish to self-nominate for consideration on the WSSD Planning Team, there will be four workshops of two to four hours each.
Members of the Planning Team will be asked to complete approximately one to two hours of pre-work prior to each workshop. Our first Planning Team meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 18, from 4:00-8:00 (Dinner will be provided). Other dates and times are tentative but we want to share these approximate dates and times so that you will be able to make the most informed decision regarding your ability to commit to Planning Team participation. The timeline for completion of the Planning Team’s work by early June.
Thank you for considering participating in the WSSD Planning Team!
Sincerely,
Dr. James Conley
Assistant Superintendent
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Discovery-Strategic Plan Executive Summary
Discovery Report Executive Summary
Wallingford-Swarthmore School District • Strategic Planning Process
January 2023
Prepared By:
BLOOMPLANNING.COM
111 S. Independence Mall East • Suite 800
Philadelphia, PA 19106267.225.8761
This document presents a summary of key considerations that Bloom Planning and the Wallingford- Swarthmore School District administrative planning team gleaned from the audits of 2021-22 and interviews and focus groups conducted during the fall semester of 2022-23.
Consideration #1: Pertinence of the SY21-22 Audits
In the 2021-2022 school year, four audits were conducted within the district. These covered the areas of curriculum and instruction, safety, equity, and communication.
During this current phase of discovery work, we probed these topics more deeply, focusing on equity, curriculum, and communications. *
It is clear that these three audit areas continue to resonate as areas of priority.
All four audit areas appear in the findings above as areas stakeholders have identified where the district could use some improvement. This finding both reinforces the district’s choice to engage in audits in these four areas and supports the findings of the audits that these areas continue to be a priority for stakeholders throughout the district.
Recent conversations verified the staying power of issues that emerged across last year’s audits.
Further consideration of the findings of these audits and strategic actions to bolster the strengths and resolve the gaps the audits identified will be essential to moving the district toward its goals.
*Bloom was not asked to focus on the safety audit.
Consideration #2: Maintain Focus on Equity
Stakeholders were presented with audit findings and asked specific questions about all three areas. Although topics related to equity did emerge in interviews and focus groups, these topics received comparatively less attention from stakeholders than did issues of communications and curriculum.
When presented with findings from the equity audit, educators and community members expressed their commitment to equity, inclusivity, and belonging. Some educators and community members also cited feelings of hesitance, and some raised questions regarding focusing efforts solely on historically marginalized sub-groups. They also questioned the degree of support they perceived they might receive when engaging in challenging conversations.
It is important to maintain focus on equity, and specifically, inequitable academic outcomes for Black, Brown, Hispanic, LEP, and IEP students throughout the district.
Consideration #3: Need for Systems
A desire for a systematic process for strategic planning and improvements in the district came up across almost all represented groups.
Teachers reported a lack of curricular support from the central office; parents shared there is no throughline to communications they receive from the district, teachers, or school leadership; and support staff said they did not feel included in district initiatives.
These issues indicate a need for codified, systematic approaches to change-making. Systems will support intentional, district-wide plan implementation and will serve as a means of providing clarity to stakeholders about plans for change and expectations around change management.
While developing district-wide systems can happen through this strategic planning process, district leadership shouldn’t wait to create a plan for implementing and communicating changes. In particular, it is critical to regularly communicate with stakeholders across the district throughout the strategic planning process in order to build buy-in and investment in the long-term shifts to come. This planning process is an opportunity to build and practice new communication hygiene and muscle.
Consideration #4: Alignment of Strategic Plan with Existing Initiatives
Many participants noted there are a number of initiatives that have taken shape in the past year as new central office administrators have come on board. These initiatives have done much to invest staff (instructional and non-instructional) in the district and its plans to move forward. This includes, but is not limited to, a curriculum working group and opportunities for support staff to engage with central office leadership on a regular basis.
As this strategic planning process and the associated initiatives begin to take shape, it will be important to ensure that the existing initiatives are aligned with priorities that are identified through the strategic plan. This will help to clarify the direction the district is moving and ensure staff are not becoming over-extended with additional or duplicative responsibilities or priorities.
Consideration #5: Incoming Funding Versus Spending
Almost all stakeholders identified the district’s financial situation as a cause for concern and acknowledged a tension between high taxes and expectations for performance within the district.
While the amount of money coming into the district via local taxes or funding from the state may not be prone to increases, a few stakeholders—namely teachers— indicated they have questions about how the money is spent once it is received. The curriculum audit also identified the financial state of the district and plans for use of funds as a priority for improvement.
Given this context, in addition to implementing systems to conduct cost-benefit analyses about new initiatives, the district may also want to consider increased transparency about how and why money is spent.
Consideration #6: Strategic Planning Concerns
It is not uncommon for some stakeholders to express doubts about the strategic planning process at the start of a project. Bloom assures participants that we do not come into this process with foregone conclusions, assumptions, or a boilerplate plan, and that we engage with the broader community and district leadership to develop a strategic vision for impact and planning priorities that are of this moment and this community. It is also important to acknowledge that no strategic plan will be successful without the buy-in of the larger community impacted by the district.
Various stakeholders expressed concern that they would not be included in the strategic planning process and that they might not be on board with the future direction of the district. There was also low turnout of various stakeholders in the focus groups, particularly parents and support staff.
Related to Consideration #3 regarding implementation of systems and communication, it will be important for the district to continue considering what engagement of stakeholders in the strategic planning process looks and feels like and how to truly involve and invest people in the strategic planning process and its vision for the district’s future.
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January 20, 2023 Update
In our continuing efforts to strengthen our ongoing relationships with our internal and external stakeholders, we embarked upon a strategic plan to help guide our vision over the next ten years. The foundation of our strategic plan will be strong, as it is being built on strong relationships with our internal and external partners. We are working together as a cohesive team and creating better working relationships, which, in turn, helps the district to better work toward our goals.
Please mark your calendars for the next two Strategic Plan Community Meetings:
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Saturday, March 11 Community meeting 9:00 - 11:00 a.m. SHMS Cafeteria
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Monday, March 13 Community meeting 9:00 - 11:00 a.m. SHMS Cafeteria
A link will be made available to you in the upcoming weeks so you can sign up for attendance and participation.
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January 13, 2023 Update
On January 9 and 11, we had over 100 community members participate in the Community Input meetings. We want to thank all those who attended the community planning session. The purpose of these meetings is to give participants the opportunity to reflect and share insights on emerging planning domains and potential strategies and to collaborate on expressing and sharing their perspectives on the focus areas of the school district. The rich conversations and reinvigorating exchanges that drove the discussions around our priority areas are not only promising but indicate the deep commitment we feel towards our students, schools, and community.
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January 6, 2023 Update
Our Strategic Planning process is now in the second phase - Visioning. The first phase focused on developing an understanding of our school district based on the findings from the curriculum, equity, and communication audits as well as surveys conducted in December by Bloom, our Strategic Plan partner. The visioning phase furthers our strategic plan by engaging major stakeholders, staff, families, and community members in developing a Vision for Impact that calls for agreement and alignment to a shared 10-year vision.
I want to thank the over 2,000 stakeholders (Students (7-12), Parents/Guardians, Staff/Faculty, Administrators, and community members) who participated in our December 12-22 Survey administered by Bloom. I also want to thank those who have RSVPed for the first of many community planning conversations scheduled for Monday, January 9, 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm at SHMS Cafeteria. At that meeting and at our subsequent meeting on January 12, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm at SHMS in room B226, we will begin soliciting interest and forming sub-committees. These sub-committees will provide input related to how the strategic plan will be put into action. If you are interested in attending the January 9 meeting, please RSVP at the link here. We have also scheduled two additional meetings for Saturday, March 11, 9:00 am - 11:00 am (SHMS Cafeteria) and Thursday, March 16, 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm (Zoom - link will be made available).
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Comprehensive Plan 2022-2025
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WSSD Focus Areas
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Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Study Findings
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Equity Data Analysis Key Findings
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Equity Data Analysis Recommendations
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Curriculum Audit Recommendations
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Communications Audit Recommendations
