Strategic Plan

Edina Public Schools provides our students with access to a comprehensive curriculum that develops critical thinking skills and dispositions, and assures students are ready for their next level and the challenges and opportunities in the next phase of life.

A.1 Design and deliver curriculum, instruction, and assessment focused on content rigor, critical thinking, student engagement, and continuous improvement to assure academic achievement and student growth.

• To prepare all learners for college, career, and civic life, curricula and instruction will be aligned to the Portrait of a Well-Rounded Edina Graduate, and periodically audited as part of a continuous improvement process.
• Explore and create additional PreK-12 programming (e.g., STEAM, STEM, Immersion, Biomedical) that promotes authentic and engaging learning experiences to meet the needs of future-ready learners and provide attractive educational options for families.

A.2 Provide a coherent and differentiated educational experience that effectively engages and appropriately challenges every student academically.

• Articulate a system of flexible pathways, that maximizes learner engagement to grow students’ strengths and talents.

A.3 Provide expanded, timely, and effective interventions for students based on data and individual needs, through all school phases, PreK-12, and throughout the school year.

• Audit, advance, and then monitor for effectiveness PreK-12 intervention programming to continuously improve the ability to meet the learning needs of all.

A.4 Review, develop, and implement an improved literacy program at EPS PreK-12.

• Review and develop a PreK-12 comprehensive literacy plan that is supported by current research to ensure that all students are College, Career, and Civic ready.
• Embed targeted reading instruction and support it across content areas, so that learners are maximizing opportunities to strengthen their skills.

A.5 Provide robust early childhood education.

• Increase participation in district Early Learning programming to ensure alignment with Kindergarten readiness skills.

Edina Public Schools welcomes, respects, supports, and values everyone so students can learn effectively, develop a deeper understanding of complex issues, and become empowered to contribute to the school community.

B.1 Create learning environments and curricula that enable staff and students to learn from and reflect on their own and others’ experiences; explore multiple perspectives; practice civil discourse; encourage empathy; create interpersonal connections; and embrace diverse identities.

• Students will be instructed using critical thinking models so that they can engage in civil discourse appropriate to their developmental level. Staff will use resources that reflect the diversity of our world.

B.2 Create a school culture that enhances learning and fosters a sense of belonging for all students through our values of Integrity, Compassion, Courage, Commitment, Appreciation, and Responsibility.

• Conduct root cause analysis to identify what factors are preventing the participation of all families in all school events, activities, services, and operations, and develop a plan for expanding participation that addresses the gaps related to influence and engagement of all families.
• Survey students to understand belonging; create a plan to address disparities with a commitment to respond with strategies and resources based on what we learn from the survey.
• Expand Peer Insights/inclusion programs across schools and grades. Expansion of programs should not be limited to Peer Insights.

B.3 Support equity by identifying and eliminating structural barriers to success.

• Critically review and refine all policies, procedures, and practices in the district and each site using an equity lens to assure that all students’ needs are met.
• Identify and develop community partnerships based on the results of reviews/audits/analyses.

B.4 Recruit, support, and retain quality, culturally competent staff with increasingly diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives.

• Design and apply strategies and supports to retain diverse talent.
• Develop and monitor hiring protocols and practices to ensure staff are hired that mirror the life experiences of the students that attend Edina Public Schools.
• Establish and nurture partnerships with colleges, universities, and other educational programs working to diversify the licensed educator workforce.
• Analyze systems and provide consistent training to ensure Cultural Liaisons serve essential student and family needs.

Edina Public Schools fosters a caring school environment where students and staff feel safe physically and emotionally, in order to be fully engaged in their academic/professional, personal, and social growth.

C.1 Ensure students acquire and apply the social-emotional competencies of self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making to promote student wellness.

• Survey teachers to determine their understanding and beliefs around social emotional learning (SEL) to move forward with tier needs assessment process.
• Conduct focus groups with secondary students as stakeholders in the development of Tier 1 SEL services.
• Identify universal screening and progress monitoring tools to baseline and monitor student growth in response to training.

C.2 Ensure staff are equipped with long-term wellness strategies leading to a strong sense of belonging and positive climate and culture.

• Inventory and monitor educators and staff about wellness indicators.
• Develop, implement, and monitor action plans to support employee wellness.

C.3 Assure students have the opportunity to participate in robust extracurricular and co-curricular opportunities.

C.4 Provide students with skills for healthy lifestyles, including living effectively with technology, and ensure access to participate in K-12 wellness programs.

• An identified wellness team will develop a common definition of wellness to include: medical, mental health, physical, and chemical health.
• An identified wellness team, in collaboration with DMTS, will complete a review of research to determine healthy habits around technology use and recommend standards of practice for E12.
• The identified wellness team will create a skill assessment to identify specialists to deliver topical trainings on: healthy lifestyles, nutrition, the effects of technology, etc.
• An identified wellness team will study current wellness practices, research, and current programming within EPS in order to develop a comprehensive E-12 wellness program.
• Programming and scheduling will be designed to consider and minimize student stress.

C.5 Create environments that are conducive to learning and facilitate constructive student interaction.

• Survey staff and students to assess current educational environments and how they support learning and constructive student interactions.
• Considering results from the survey, the SEL taskforce will recommend reallocation, renovation, or building of space to meet identified needs.
• Identify, train, and implement restorative practices to improve student and staff ratings of positive school climate.

C.6 Increase the mental health support provided by caring adults.

• Decrease the current high school counselor ratio of 350 students to 1 counselor to 250:1, going from 8 to 11, to 12 counselors.
• Every student is assigned a staff member (i.e., advisor, teacher, or case manager) as an advocate to create a Learner Profile and ensure consistent contact and communication.

C.7 Review and develop a technology plan for students and staff.

• Partner with DMTS to inventory technology currently in use by students and staff. Identify the benefits and drawbacks of each category of technology utilized.
• Make recommendations around continued use of each category of technology used.

Edina Public Schools continuously develops innovative, committed, and exemplary leadership at all levels and from all constituencies, student and adult.

D.1 Identify, develop, and recognize adult leaders throughout the district.

• Identify the collaborative team as the foundational structure for innovative leadership.
• Collaborate, design, and implement targeted professional development to ensure each member of the EPS community has the capacity to perform the leadership skills necessary for academic excellence.
• Foster spaces for interpersonal connection to promote a sense of belonging in the workplace and fuel professional collaboration, and maximize whole child development. Student social-emotional learning requires adults to successfully socially interact with one another.

D.2 Provide robust and balanced professional development.

• Refine, prioritize, and expand pathways for successful professional development so that relevance can be maximized for all staff.
• Audit current personalized learning practices for effectiveness and provide training for the 3Ps (Profiles, Pathways, and Proficiency) of the Edina Learning Framework to ensure continuity of the student experience across sites and levels.
• Provide professional learning on the science of how the brain learns in order to deepen staff understanding of effective lesson designs.
• Continue professional learning on cultural competence so that staff are best positioned to make school relevant for all learners.
• Identify and clarify literacy training for staff (dyslexia, phonics, reading, intervention) to deepen skills of educators to meet the needs of learners.
• Ensure staff has a deep understanding in the instruction of social emotional skills and characteristics and embeds the development of those skills throughout the school environment to address the whole child.
• Provide professional learning on parent communication strategies in order to elevate clarity in meeting the needs of families.

D.3 Develop students as leaders, encourage student voice, and promote civic engagement.

• Use the Future-Ready Learner Profile to design or inform the appropriate selection of a student leadership curriculum.
• Implement multiple pathways for students to access and engage in student leadership learning experiences.
• Implement student advisory boards (elementary, middle, and high school).
• Include student representation on the school board.

D.4 Develop and maintain a culture of continuous improvement based on evidence.

• Continue to advance the development of collaborative teams (PLCs) that use data to inform instruction (including Pathways).
• Deepen the use of data & assessment literacy to drive continuous improvement through an inquiry-based cycle.
• Actively interrupt systems and practices that perpetuate the marginalization of underserved student populations within EPS.

D.5 Provide strategy and direction for predicted enrollment and demographic trends while retaining current students.

• Complete an enrollment analysis of EPS which includes housing, demographic, market share, and geographical variables.
• Conduct an audit to determine variables that affect resident enrollment.
• Develop a long-range enrollment model based on variables acting on student enrollment.
• Review and if necessary reform the enrollment reporting process for school board and community.

Edina Public Schools works in partnership with parents, students, staff, alumni, and community to serve as a reflection of Edina’s strong commitment to education.

E.1 Provide engagement opportunities and information about EPS to the community so that all community members feel connected and know how to contribute to our collective success.

• Develop and communicate a framework for the role of community in decision-making.
• Develop marketing materials to promote the value of an Edina education.
• Create alumni/community opportunities to connect to the district.

E.2 Build upon the robust community education opportunities and offerings for all learners (PreK-Adult).

• Reinvigorate marketing, communications, and engagement strategies to reintroduce our programs to new and evolving audiences and create programs that respond to evolving community needs.
• Deepen partnerships with internal partners to enhance learning beyond the school day and student leadership opportunities.
• Integrate transition programs and materials with communications (Birth, entering K, MS, EHS).

E.3 Ensure all students and their families are engaged and well-served by the communications and all other interactions with EPS.

• Audit current communications and systems to better understand the needs of parents, students, affinity groups, and to ensure equitable access, effective organizations, and valuable/right sharing of information.

E.4 Leverage partnerships with community groups, businesses, local and state government agencies, and individuals to strengthen and foster relationships with EPS.

• Ensure community members experience a welcoming environment through customer service.
• Develop a network of influencers to promote and support EPS.
• Build upon our community partnership/volunteering program to develop a framework that allows for multiple contact/entry points and creates a deeper relationship between partners and the school system.

E.5 Ensure strong financial stewardship and provide information that is accessible to all members of our community and demonstrates and promotes the value of an Edina education.

• Publish annual financial reports in user-friendly language.

E.6 Create assessment data dashboard.

• Create and systematize all the processes required to operate and use the dashboard to track strategic progress.