School District of Clayton
We are a District with a growth mindset and a commitment to
continuous improvement. As a nationally-recognized school
district, we can’t be complacent with good or even great. We have
to challenge ourselves to move from excellent to transformational,
to ask ourselves the hard questions and take risks that make us
uncomfortable. We owe nothing less than our best thinking to the
students and families who trust us with their learning. A strategic
plan provides a road map for action that will help answer those
hard questions and push us to take those uncomfortable risks.
It also provides us with bookends that help sharpen our focus
and keep us from getting overloaded with too many ideas or
initiatives.
Why do we need
a strategic plan?
Where will it take us?
Our Theory of Action
The School District of Clayton envisions having graduates who
are self-actualized, intellectually curious, culturally conscious,
empathetic, creative thinkers and collaborative. The journey
to those attributes starts as soon as students enter our schools.
We want to develop students who are not only academically
prepared, but also attuned to their humanity and how they can
improve it.
In order to develop the graduates who possess the attributes we
believe are necessary to have an impact in the world, we need
to provide them with the opportunities they need to develop
those skills identified in our Profile. Not all of the attributes in our
Profile are easily measured, but that doesn’t mean they should
be thought of as soft skills. They are anything but soft - they are
critical. Therefore, you may find objectives or action steps in this
plan that may not seem to directly connect to our Profile of the
Graduate and that’s okay. Whether directly or indirectly, everything
within this plan is a means to an end that has one singular focus:
our learners.
One key aspect of a good
strategic plan is where it is kept,
or, more importantly, where it is
not kept. A strategic plan cannot
be effective if it sits in a three-
ring binder on an office shelf.
Culturally
Conscious
Empathetic
Self-
Actualized
Collaborative
Intellectually
Curious
Creative
Thinker