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(THOMAS WALLNER | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Dr. Ken Helvey with N2 Learning speaks Wednesday, June 4 with the Graham ISD Board of Trustees regarding the process of establishing a new strategic plan for the district.
After months of planning beginning in early 2025, Graham ISD has set a roadmap for the future of the district with a strategic plan set for 2025-2028.
The Graham ISD Board of Trustees met Wednesday, Jan. 15 and accepted a budget amendment of up to $30,000 for the creation of the strategic plan with N2 Learning. N2 Learning and GISD partnered in 2017-2018 to develop the former strategic plan.
A 50-plus member committee of community members, parents and GISD staff and students worked to establish the strategic plan.
“I thought it was super important that the kids were there,” GISD board member Kristina Pettus said. “...It felt like they really had a voice for maybe the first time. ...It really felt like they had input and were listened to.”
That plan was presented in a condensed one-page document to the school board Wednesday, June 4.
N2 Learning will be working with Superintendent Mary Johnston on the implementation of the plan throughout the summer. The strategic planning team and action team leaders will have annual strategic plan reviews.
Johnston said the board and community will be updated as objectives and strategies are met within the plan.
“We look forward to updating you as we enact these and we’ll be letting you know how we’ll be communicating to you our progress,” she said. “We’re looking at some type of dashboard that is on our website that will track the real-time progress of the plan, so that there are no questions that not only did we make a plan, but we’re working the plan.”
Mission and beliefs
The new mission of the district is to “equip all students for excellence in life.” The new mission added “all” in front of students and removed “to positively impact their communities,” which was included at the end of the statement.
The beliefs of the district under the new strategic plan are to develop an effective learning environment that is safe, promotes student innovation and makes real-world connections.
It continues to state that the district believes in fostering relationships that ensure collaboration among students, staff and the community. The district additionally wants to reflect the values of the community and seek authentic partnerships in the learning process.
Lastly, the district believes in challenging learners to prepare them for success following high school.
Categories, objectives and strategies
The plan is split into categories which are Academics, Our People, Finance and Facilities, Culture, Safety and Communications. Within each category are objectives and strategies for achieving those objectives.
Academics has an objective of having all students prepared for success at the next level. This will be achieved by developing personalized learning to meet individual needs and by providing professional development for educators to maximize instruction utilizing guaranteed and viable curriculum.
Our People has an objective of recruiting and retaining highly qualified employees at all levels.
The district will achieve this by providing all staff with engagement opportunities through professional learning, generating a supportive and appreciative work environment where all staff are valued and developing a strategic recruitment plan.
Finance and Facilities has an objective of optimizing revenue and impacting student achievement by increasing student attendance rates at all campuses.
This will be achieved by developing incentives and impacting student achievement by increasing attendance rates, communicating the benefits of increased attendance to the district’s shareholders and ensuring financial efficiency through the budgetary process to meet the needs of students.
The second objective under the Our People category is to commit to excellence in facilities which promote innovative, healthy and welcoming learning environments.
This second objective will be achieved by creating a long-term facility plan and fostering support for that plan to promote the district’s objective for this category.
Under the Culture category, the district’s objective is that all stakeholders take ownership in creating a “welcoming, compassionate, united school community striving for aspirational achievements.”
This will be achieved by establishing consistency across all campuses to promote “high expectations, core values and accountability.” The district will also cultivate an inclusive environment for parent partnerships.
Under Safety, the district will provide a safe, healthy and secure environment for all stakeholders by developing and implementing a plan training all school personnel in trauma-informed practices and mental health first aid to identify and better respond to student needs.
The district will also refine and partner with safety and security systems to ensure all stakeholders are informed.
The final category Communication has an objective of supporting student success through clear, consistent and inclusive communication and marketing that builds trust, reflects the community and empowers the stakeholders.
The district will achieve this by promoting its identity and success through consistent branding and marketing to strengthen its community support.
The district will implement streamlined communication practices to make sure all stakeholders receive consistent and accessible information.
