Centrally Speaking

We are off to a great start in the 2023-24 school year! The heat we experienced in our region certainly made us appreciate the air conditioning in our classrooms, hallways, and common spaces. They made the first week much more comfortable. 

This past spring, the Board of Education and administration went through a process to update the district’s strategic plan. The plan is written in the form of a “Theory of Action” for each of our identified areas. A theory of action is a concept that describes how an organization intends to create the future it desires. All our strategic priorities are written in an “If…then” style, with broad actions in the middle that define our path. 

I wanted to provide some context on how we landed on our five strategic priorities. Below are the priorities and descriptions of why each one is important to Central Lee.

Serving the Whole Child: It has always been a strong belief that our students are more than simply a test score. At Central Lee, we have focused on leadership development, student involvement in activities, building/sustaining healthy relationships, and much more. Over the next few years, the district aims to improve how we respond to the growing mental health needs of our students. Like all schools, we have seen an increase since COVID on challenging mental health needs among our students. 

Instructional and Programmatic Excellence: High-quality instruction and academic achievement will always be the cornerstone of any strategic plan. Our plan helps us focus on areas where we can improve and/or where we should continue to focus. An example of this is improving the quality of feedback we provide staff to improve instruction. Another example is a continued focus on implementing Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), which drive our data review and instructional decision making for classrooms. 

Staff Recruitment, Engagement, and Retention: We all know the labor market is challenging for all industries. Public education is not immune to these challenges. We are lucky to be fully staffed right now, but we recognize that without specific strategies in this area, we could experience staffing shortages. This priority keeps us focused on ensuring we are implementing ideas that recruit and retain the best possible staff in southeast Iowa. 

Engaging Parents and Building Relationships: We have always recognized that a major component to a child’s education is the positive engagement of their parents/guardians. This is becoming more challenging in today’s society. This priority will make it a higher focus in the district in the future. We aim to have positive parent engagement and strong community partners to ensure our students are learning at high levels.

Facilities: We just finished up some amazing facility improvements with our last strategic plan. We want to make sure we are always forward thinking when it comes to facility planning. This priority makes facilities a continued focus in the future. We do not anticipate asking the community to approve another bond issue, but we do know that we can improve certain facility items that can enhance the educational experience for students. 

We hope the next five years will bring even more positive change to the Central Lee Community School District. We believe we are heading in the right direction to meet the array of challenges in front of public schools across Iowa. We look forward to working with you to overcome these challenges to ensure Central Lee remains a truly great school for students!