UCS Empowered Strategic Plan / UCS Empowered

Utica Community Schools is celebrated for student achievement that consistently surpasses county, state and national benchmarks.

UCS instructional programs and educators earn countless awards statewide and nationally year after year. Our most recent graduation rate stands above 95 percent, with the majority of our students pursuing postsecondary education.

Maintaining this level of excellence does not happen by accident, but rather through continuous improvement actions to accelerate the high educational standards our community expects and deserves.

Following the challenges of the past few years, the district’s priority going forward is to assure every student has what he or she needs to fully engage academically and accelerate for success at their own level of ability.

Aligned with these efforts, we have initiated a collaborative process of strategic planning and continuous improvement. You may ask, what does this mean and how will this work?

UCS Empowered is an integrated tool for consistent deep analysis of current and future student needs at each grade level across our 36 schools and myriad of programs, taking into consideration what is working well and what may require change.

Simply put, the steps in the UCS Empowered process are:

Assess needs

Develop and implement an action plan

Monitor progress

Evaluate the effectiveness of the implementation and outcomes

UCS Empowered activities will advance from information gathering to establishing goals, identifying and implementing action plans and finally, measuring and monitoring results. Our work will focus on a defined number of achievable goals to deliver high-quality experiences for students.

Periodic updates will follow throughout the process to keep you informed of our progress.

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The Strategic Planning Process
The strategic plan has four phases:

Phase I: Preparation
- Facility Tours and Work Group Meetings: Forty school and program sites visited and meetings held with a variety of stakeholders, including the UCS Parent Network, leaders from all 10 employee groups and athletic program leaders.
- Community Survey: Survey created and distributed to members of the community – from staff and Board of Education members to parents and students – to collect feedback on priorities and performance within the district.
Phase II: Research
- Analysis of Community Survey: Survey results were reviewed and analyzed to identify the district’s greatest assets and challenges as perceived by the community.
Phase III: Action Plan
- Plan Draft: Using the information gathered through the community survey and workshops, the strategic plan was outlined.
Phase IV: Implementation and Monitoring Progress
- Plan Deployment: Once the plan was approved by the Board of Education, the strategic actions began to be implemented. At regular intervals, progress toward reaching the desired outcomes will be monitored.
Strategic Priorities
Teaching and Learning:

Ensure all students experience the academic growth and achievement that will enable them to prepare for the careers of their choosing.
- Deliver a relevant, engaging, and challenging curriculum
- Recognize students’ individual instructional needs
- Provide timely and equitable academic supports
- Provide access to the fine and performing arts, athletics, clubs and organizations
- Ensure college, career, and community readiness
- Provide comprehensive professional development experiences
- Monitor progress toward goals
District Culture:

Ensure excellence, equity and access for all students students today and in the future.
- Ensure students, parents, and staff from all backgrounds feel welcome
- Address students’ mental health and well-being
- Support the physical, psychological, and emotional safety of all students, families, and staff
- Encourage positive forms of behavior
- Communicate in the languages spoken in our community
- Seek input from students, parents, and staff to inform key decisions
- Set strategic goals and objectives that reflect a commitment to excellence, equity and access (Board of Education Policy 6000)
- Monitor progress toward goals
Resources:

Ensure human and financial resources will support meeting the needs of all students today and in the future.
- Recruit, develop and retain a high-quality, diverse workforce
- Prepare for changes in enrollment levels
- Budget strategically with sustainability as a focus
- Allocate human and financial resources based on needs
- Ensure access to nutritious school meals
- Monitor progress toward goals
Operations:

Ensure the facilities and infrastructure will support meeting the needs of all students today and in the future.
- Ensure the facilities meet the needs of all students
- Expand and/or update facilities
- Ensure students have the right instructional technology for learning
- Ensure staff have the right technology to carry out their responsibilities
- Transport students safely and on time
- Monitor Progress toward goals
Vision and Mission
Strategic Planning Data Workbook
Strategic Planning Data Workbook

The Strategic Planning Data Workbook was used by workgroups consisting of a representative group of stakeholders including students, parents, and staff focused on the areas of teaching and learning, district culture, resources, and operations, to identify needs and draft desired outcomes. The workbook provides key quantitative and qualitative metrics, initial analysis

and questions for reflection organized around five chapters.
1. Enrollment and Demographics
2. Student Performance
3. Engagement of Students
4. Stakeholder Perceptions
5. Human and Financial Resources
To view the Strategic Planning Data Workbook, click here.

The Strategic Planning Process

Strategic Priorities

Vision and Mission

Strategic Planning Data Workbook