- Kuna School District
- Strategic Plan
2022-2027 Strategic Plan
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A guiding coalition of administrators, teachers, parents, and business leaders have been working on revising our district's strategic plan.
In May 2021, the Kuna Board of Trustees approved our Strategic Plan by our community. In 2023, the Strategic Plan was updated.
MissionEmpowering students to lead productive lives.
VisionFuture Ready: We prepare for a rapidly changing world by empowering all students to pursue the best version of themselves.
Core Beliefs- Learning is maximized when we provide a safe and orderly environment.
- Families and community are vital and active partners.
- Educators design instruction to engage and inspire all learners.
- All students are unique and valued.
- All students will seek growth in academic and personal skills.
- All students will be contributing members of society.
Future Picture
Every day in every classroom, students receive quality instruction and exhibit personal growth. We provide a safe environment that celebrates and supports our diverse student community in their learning needs and desired sense of belonging, so they are able to meet life’s opportunities and challenges in healthy ways with compassion for others.
We share responsibility with our community and its leaders. We embrace parents, caregivers, and the community as vital partners in the education and success of all students.
We want KSD to be the place where people choose to work.
Past, present and future: We use a feedback loop to learn from the past, continue to improve, and to direct future innovation.
Four Pillars of Focus
Our plan focuses on key areas or pillars including:
- Student Learning: Vision: Every day in every classroom, students will receive high-quality instruction and exhibit personal growth.
- Strong Relationships: Vision: The Kuna School District will embrace parents, caregivers, businesses, and the community as vital partners in the education and success of all our students.
- Organizational Strength - Vision: We want KSD to be the place where people choose to work and thrive.
- Safe Schools - Vision: Our schools will be safe. Each school will foster a culture that supports the whole child and celebrates our students' diversity and sense of belonging in a safe and secure environment.
We provide frequent updates to our Kuna Board of Trustees about Strategic Plan projects underway in the district. You can find those reports in the Board's agenda or on this page.
Continuous Improvement Plan
The State of Idaho requires districts to complete an annual Continuous Improvement Plan. This document can be found here.
Strategic Plan Reports
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November 2023
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August 2023
August 2023 School Board Report
Superintendent Johnson updated the Board on the implementation of the district's strategic plan. She shared:
- The five strategic work areas have been combined into four areas: student learning; organizational strength; strong relationships; and safe schools.
- Teams in the four areas will meet monthly.
- A guiding coalition will be formed to bring expertise, energy and perspective across a variety of areas to help us to review results and make recommendations on improvements and/or changes needed in order to best achieve the goals outlined in the plan.
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July 2023
JULY 2023 School Board Report
Superintendent Johnson reported on the Organizational Strength pillar of the district's Strategic Plan. The goal of this part of the plan is to ensure the district is a place where people choose to work and thrive.
She shared that more than 80% of the district staff took an employee survey earlier this year. Some highlights were:
- 95% agreed that at work, someone cares about them
- 88% agreed they have the opportunity to do what they do best every day
- 85% agreed that coworkers support each other
- 85% agreed that they had opportunities to learn and grow
The team leading this work has shared results with principals and supervisors and will be identifying areas for improvement.
She shared that our nation and state are experiencing a shortage of teachers. KSD currently has eight unfilled openings which is much lower than the same time last year when 14 positions were open.
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April 2023
April 2023 School Board Report
Assistant Superintendent Kim Bekkedahl and Kuna High School Vice Principal Tracy Donaldson reviewed work in this "Safe Schools" Pillar of our strategic plan including:
- Hosting "Connecting Together" events to inform parents and community members about issues impacting the children we serve
- Increasing safety equipment
- Review and updating safety plans
- Regular building safety walkthroughs at all schools
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March 2023
March 2023 Board Report
Strong Partnerships project focus on community, parents
Administrators Stuart Vickers, career technical educator, and Kevin Gifford, elementary education and Reed Elementary, shared that work under this pillar includes:
- Strategic Partnerships which encompasses work with the city planners, developers, lawmakers, and major donors
- Community Partnerships which encompasses making connections with business and community groups to support:
- workplace experiences for our secondary students
- classroom experiences for our elementary students
- Parent/Teacher Communication which will involve a committee to identify expectations for two-way communications and identify tools to support expectations
- Annual parent survey
📺 Watch this part of the meeting
Board OKs surveys for students in grades 3-12
The Board approved the use of an engagement survey for students in grades 3-12 and an exit survey for 12th graders to inform the district's strategic plan as well as satisfy a state requirement to survey students each year. Students will take the surveys this spring.
🕵️ Review survey for students in grades 3-11
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February 2023
February 2023 Board Update
Chief Financial Officer Elmira Feather and Director of School Support Services and Human Resources Brian Graves updated the board on Strategic Plan work in the area of organizational strength. They shared that work is under way in three areas related to the district's employees:
- Recruitment and retention efforts
- Compensation and benefits
- Workplace to thrive
➡️ Review the presentation here.
📺 Watch this part of the meeting here.
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January 2023
January 2023 School Board Report
Superintendent Wendy Johnson; Hubbard Elementary School Principal Justine Burgess and Teacher Bre Martin; Indian Creek Elementary School Principal Kimberly Barker; and Curriculum Coordinator Kelly Walton updated the Board on work on the Student Learning Pillar of the District's Strategic Plan.
In addition to efforts in AVID and full time kindergarten, new efforts are under way to create a system-wide approach to improve student outcomes including:
- K-3 Literacy pilot at Hubbard showed strong growth in student skills
- 3-5 Math strategies at all elementary schools show gains in teacher knowledge and skills with students testing again in February
- K-12 writing expectations and practices
➡️ Review the presentation here.
📺 Watch this part of the meeting here.
