By Megan Kelley
Editor
mkelley@mihomepaper.com

INDEPENDENCE TWP. — It’s been a busy school year for Clarkston Community Schools especially when it comes to progress on the district’s revamped strategic plan.
At its final meeting of 2024 last month, the Board of Education received an update on the plan from Nancy Mahoney, Assistant Superintendent of Instructional Services. The current strategic plan is set to expire at the end of this school year, with the new plan taking effect at the start of the 2025-26 school year and is intended to remain in place until 2030.
CCS started the process of creating a new strategic plan in April, reviewing its mission, vision, pillars of excellence and goals. They performed an environmental scan to gather data and administered a community survey which received 1,928 responses and began having full team meetings.
“We did administer the community survey where we had almost 2,000 respondents. They say this is a really good turnout in terms of the insights that we had. So, that was very much a part of the development of what we’ve done so far,” Mahoney said. “We do have full team meetings that we started in the spring and we continued even in the work this year. It’s a 50 plus team. We meet in this room right here (the CCS board room), and there are various leaders that come together. We have principals, central office, we have our subject area coordinators, instructional coaches, we have special programs represented, our teachers, special education community members, and even two school board members; Elizabeth Egan and Stephanie Crane.”
August through December, the district reviewed data and feedback while also finalizing its mission, vision, pillars and goals.
From now until May, CCS is working to develop strategies and create a new timeline.
Mahoney then presented the proposed mission, vision, pillars and goals.
Proposed mission:
“Clarkston Community Schools will provide a challenging, healthy, engaging, safe, and supportive educational experience in partnership with families and the community.”
Proposed vision:
“Students of Clarkston Community Schools are well-prepared to lead successful, fulfilling lives and embrace their future with confidence.”

Pillars:
1. Academic excellence and student success.
Goal: “Prepare students with the knowledge, skills and experiences to thrive academically, succeed in future careers, and contribute to their communities.”

2. Well-being and personal growth.
Goal: “Nurture the whole person by addressing mental, emotional and physical well-being to ensure lifelong success for students and staff.”

3. District, family and community engagement.
Goal: “Foster meaningful relationships with students, staff, families and community partners to promote trust and active involvement.”

4. Operational and staff excellence.
Goal: “Provide high-quality staff, operations and infrastructure to cultivate an environment of safety and success.”
With the mission, vision, pillars and goals solidified, the team working on the strategic plan is expected to break down into four smaller teams focusing on each pillar.
“We want to divide our large group into the four teams, looking at secondary and elementary. And we just put out a voice of, where are you interested? Where is your expertise? That’s how we’ll divide,” Mahoney said. “We are going to hold several more full team meetings to really look at strategies and tactics. These are the ways we want to complete the goals. So, what are we going to do; are the strategies. And then how are we going to complete it; are the tactics. We’ll create that timeline and we will present again to you in May our new strategic plan.”
Superintendent Dr. Shawn Ryan spoke to praise the district’s work throughout the process, highlighting the collaboration that has gone into creating the strategic plan.
“That’s the great thing about this. It’s not about one person. It’s not the superintendent going, ‘this is the plan, this is what we’re all exactly doing.’ It’s hearing the voices, putting them together, making sure everybody has some fingerprints and a place to really find what they believe is important,” Dr. Ryan said. “It’s bigger than a person, it’s bigger than one board, or bigger than any group, administration or staff as a whole, but it includes everyone. So, I’m really proud of Nancy and the entire team in the process so far.”
Board members including Board President Greg Need and Board Vice President Stefanie Crane also spoke to praise the collaborative effort that has gone into the plan.
Mahoney is expected to bring the full plan back to the board for approval at the end of the school year.