The Cincinnati Public Schools Board of Education approved the district's new strategic plan at their meeting Monday night.
The board says it took input from teachers, counselors, administrative staff, union leaders, and community members to develop a plan that serves the needs of both students and educators using five strategies that will guide the district's decision-making.
The five strategies outlined in the plan are:
- Support students
- Equip educators
-Connect the community
- Ignite Innovation
-Optimize Operations
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A key part of the strategic plan is trying to keep students engaged at their schools. Since joining the district in 2022, Superintendent Iranetta Wright has made improving chronic absenteeism and the district's graduation rate some of her top priorities.
Over the next several years the district says it will implement a support system to address students' needs academically, socially, and emotionally. This means district leaders want to increase the number of students participating in school activities like clubs and athletics. CPS also wants to have all of its students receive instruction in Social Emotional Learning (SEL) and learn de-escalation strategies. By doing this, the district hopes to improve the mental health of students and make them feel safe and more comfortable at school.
CPS will also look to give all its employees professional learning opportunities and training to enhance their specific skills. This includes giving each educator access to physical and mental healthcare as well as training in cultural competence so they can better understand the students they teach every day.
Another priority for CPS is building stronger community connections. Those connections are typically with local organizations, companies, and area colleges. The district says it wants to leverage those relationships to give more students opportunities to learn by offering paid and unpaid internships along with career development programs.
The district also intends to provide chances for families to learn about SEL and participate in English as a Second Language (ESL) courses.
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Over the next few years, CPS leaders want to make schools more equitable by expanding access to advanced placement, dual credit classes, and gifted programs. The strategic plan also aims to update the school boundaries and ensure equitable access to the district's feeder schools, but this move will still need to be approved by the board.
One of the district's biggest issues is its transportation system. This year, school leaders reworked its yellow bus transportation plan to make them run more efficiently, so more students can get to class on time. In the new plan, the district says it wants to continue to streamline its bus service and give families frequent updates if there's ever an issue.
The board unanimously decided to move forward with the plan with a few small revisions. CPS will release a full version of the plan once those changes are made.
The board's next meeting is set for October 18.
