Lighting the Way Mapping our Strategic Direction Volume I
Allentown School District Board of School Directors Andrene Brown-Nowell President Audrey Mathison Vice-President LaTarsha Brown Lisa A. Conover Phoebe D. Harris Jennifer Lynn Ortiz Daysell Ramirez Zaleeae Sierra Ana Tiburcio
A Message From Dr. Carol D. Birks, Superintendent/CEO Dear Learning Community: Happy New Year! Welcome and thank you for your interest in the Allentown School District’s Strategic Planning Process. The Allentown School District is developing a Strategic Plan that will serve as a framework to shape our goals and guardrails to ensure the future success of our students and all members of our learning community. High-quality and top-performing organizations, including school districts, regularly evaluate their systems, structures, and practices. New Strategic Plans are customarily created every 3–5 years to ensure that districts best serve students, staff, and families and implement the most current educational practices. Through this process, we will capitalize on the opportunities to reimagine our Allentown School District to support all of our learners. During our first Steering Committee session, we reviewed exemplar plans from other high performing districts and began to review our current mission and vision to determine if they are relevant to today, and preparing our students for the future. We will enlist the participation of all members of our Learning Community through Advisory Committees, Focus Groups, and via surveys to provide feedback on all aspects of the Strategic Planning Process before it is a final document. Together, we will build on our collective gifts and talents to create our next chapter. Over the next six months, we will publish a monthly newsletter entitled Lighting the Way: Mapping our Strategic Direction, which will capture highlights of the work completed and outline the next steps of the Strategic Planning Process. Please follow this journey closely on our website, via email, and on our social media channels. We thank our Board of School Directors for their unwavering support and commitment to our students and for prioritizing the development of this plan. I am honored and humbled to serve as your Superintendent. We get better together! All our strengths are needed! Best, Dr. Carol D. Birks Dr. Carol D. Birks Superintendent/Chief Executive Officer
The Role of the Steering Committee: ● Advise on development of the plan ● Elevate the voices of stakeholders ● Serve as ambassadors for the project ● Contribute thought partnership on the implementation of the plan Steering Committee
Veronica Gonzalez Chief Executive Officer Valley Health Partners Community Health Center “Magic happens when passion and purpose come together. I see a lot of passionate people here for the children of our community and there is a lot of purpose in everyone who is here. Let the magic happen.” Terrence DeFranco, Chief Executive Officer Iota Communications, Inc. “The impact of the Strategic Plan will be transformative. We are at a point in time where we can come together to make a huge impact.” Dr. Cheryl Logan Executive Director McGraw Center for Educational Leadership, University of Pennsylvania “Although the Strategic Plan Process is an adult activity right now, we need to focus and remember that it’s all for the children and families of Allentown.” Steering Committee Tri-Chairs
Becky Bodnar Allentown School District Act 93 Union Daniel Bosket Community Action Lehigh Valley Patti Bower Allentown School District Megan Briggs Lehigh Valley Community Foundation Dr. Shuanta Broadway McDaniel Allentown School District Steering Committee Sheila Alvarado Superintendent’s Parent Advisory Council Jennifer Aponte Allentown School District Dr. Joanne Barnett Allentown School District Anne Baum Lehigh Valley Reilly Children's Hospital Dr. Morcease Beasley AASA, The School Superintendents Association Dr. Ann Bieber Lehigh Carbon Community College Diaja Blakey Allentown School District Parent Dr. Katrin Blamey DeSales University Logan Blyler Ramos Elementary Dr. Kim Brown Lehigh Valley Health Network Taylor Brown Pennsylvania Senate District 14 Sydney Carlson Lehigh University George Clay Allentown School District Security Union Senator Jarrett Coleman Pennsylvania Senate District 16 Ashley Coleman Bradbury Sullivan LGBT Community Center Erin Connelly United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley Connor Corpora Pennsylvania Senate District 14 Office Lucy DeLabar CASA Guadalupe
Steering Committee Charles Dinofrio Lehigh Valley Children's Center Dr. Teresa Donate Allentown Latino Education Coalition Doug Downing Fulton Bank Lin Erickson Da Vinci Science Center James Ferry ESSA Bank & Trust Patrick Foose Pennsylvania Senate District 16 Office Tracy Fountain William Allen High School Darla Frack St. Luke’s University Health Network Leslie Franklin Allentown Education Association John Hauth St. Luke’s University Health Network Chris Hendricks City of Allentown Kassie Hilgert ArtsQuest Karianne Gelinas Lehigh Valley Economic Development Council Jane George PPL Corporation Dawn Godshall Community Action Lehigh Valley Dr. Andrea Grannum-Mosley Lehigh Carbon Community College (Allentown NAACP) Dr. Lisa Greenawalt Lehigh Career & Technical Institute Linda Groves Allentown School District Paraprofessionals Union Beth Halpern Muhlenberg College Dr. Robin T. Harris Allentown School District Attorney Tonya Harris Allentown School District Foundation
Steering Committee Brittany Keal Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce Redwan Kholi American Syrian Arab Cultural Association Vicki Kistler City of Allentown Andrew Krahulik-Knapp Allentown School District Marci Lesko United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley Lisa Liddington Lehigh Valley Health Network Guillermo Lopez Allentown Latino Education Coalition, Hispanic Center Lehigh Valley Ernesto Lopez Central Elementary School Belle Marks City of Allentown Kirk Hines Allentown School District’s Maintenance Union Attorney Gavin Holihan Lehigh County District Attorney's Office Katherine Jackson Boys & Girls Club of Allentown Abby Jaraah South Mountain Middle School Travis Johnson Allentown School District Parent Dipal Kapadia Lehigh Career & Technical Institute
Steering Committee Beth Martin Lehigh Valley Health Network Christine Martin PPL Electric Utilities Robbie Mathews Sixth Street Shelter Mary Jo McNulty Lehigh University Senator Nick Miller Pennsylvania Senate District 14 Amy Nyberg Lehigh Valley Health Network Dr. Donald Outing Lehigh University Dr. Rajika Reed St. Luke's University Health Network Kevin Rhoades Superintendent’s Parent Advisory Council
Steering Committee Erika Riddle Petrozelli Lehigh Valley Community Foundation Leida Rosario Allentown School District Tyrone Russell Faces International Ana Sainz de la Pena Allentown School District Melanie Sanchez-Jones Bureau of Special Education Celysmar Santana-Oquendo Allentown School District Marisol Santiago Allentown School District Clerical Staff Union Dr. Evelyn Santana Superintendent’s Parent Advisory Council Dr. Malika Savoy Allentown School District Jennifer Schweyer Allentown School District Parent The Honorable Michael H. Schlossberg PA State Representative District 132 The Honorable Peter Schweyer PA State Representative District 134 Dr. Michael Sidhom St. Luke’s University Health Network Karen Sodl Allentown School District Local 391A of the Pennsylvania Joint Board of Workers United, SEIU AJ Suerro Hispanic Chamber of Commerce/Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce David Synnamon City of Allentown Health Bureau Dr. Anibal Torres Penn State Lehigh Valley
Ali Wight Dodd Elementary School Paul Williams Miers Insurance Nancy Wilt The Office of PA State Representative District 134 Sharif Brown Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council Demiya Blakey Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council Tayshawn Johnson Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council Allison Morales Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council Erin Schweyer Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council Ruby Silva Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council Steering Committee Raiza Trinidad Superintendent’s Parent Advisory Council Mayor Tuerk Mayor City of Allentown Dr. Deidra Vachier Community Service for Children Mariska Van Aalst The Office of U.S. Representative Susan Wild Dr. Bill Vogler Pinebrook Family Answers Stephanie Walker Cedar Crest College Dr. Belinda Waller-Peterson Moravian University Maggie Walters Downtown Allentown Business Alliance Jill Wheeler City Center Allentown
● Collaboration between all stakeholders will lead to success for the Allentown School District ● Excitement and positive energy filled the room as participants respectfully balanced different priorities and voices to reach the best outcome. ● Hopefulness was encouraged by the collaborative and critical thinking environment fostered by everyone in the room. Collaboration
● It is important to visually represent the people working with the children. ● The depth of some of the examples were impressive, but a little overwhelming. We should model the examples that were more digestible. ● There was a desire to focus on student safety, mental health, and wellness. ● Keep the vocabulary and language of the audience in mind. ● Resonate with Students. Middle school students should see themselves in the plan and implementation. ● Impact will come from clear, concise content rather than fancy graphics. Best Practices in Building a Strategic Plan
● Review the Allentown School District’s Core Values: Do they reflect a belief system that drives the actions and decisions of the district going forward? ● Send the Stakeholder Survey to all stakeholders for feedback. ● Focus on reviewing the current Core Values and developing a Portrait of a Graduate during the next Steering Committee meeting. Next Steps
● January 9, 2024 - Portrait of a Graduate ○ Generate a list of traits and characteristics critical to success in adulthood. ● February 13, 2024 - Priority Areas ○ Define Priority Areas for the next five years. ● March 12, 2024 - Goals ○ Set measurable goals for each Priority Area. ● April 9, 2024 & April 23, 2024 - Strategies & Actions ○ Select evidence-based, strategic actions to achieve our goals. ● May 2024 - Board of School Directors Approval & Launch ○ Board approves a Strategic Plan and the report is launched. Future Meetings
Thank You! We get better together! All of our strengths are needed! We appreciate your engagement in this critical process. Learn more at allentownsd.org! Next Steering Committee Meeting: Tuesday, January 9, 2024