In 2013, community feedback inspired a new mission and a set of commitments for our students, schools, and the district at large. In 2018, we went back to our communities to see how well we had met the commitments we made and understand where the community wanted us to go next.

We held 16 meetings in English and in Spanish and at all times of day with over 400 participating students, parents, staff, and community members in November. The feedback we received from the visioning meetings affirmed much of the work our schools have undertaken over the past five years, and surfaced areas where we need further clarification.

There was consensus that there has been much evidence of growth in several areas. We heard that there is a stronger sense of emotional safety and belonging in our schools due to increased emphasis on social-emotional learning and character development, explicitly naming what we call “habits of a scholar” and our efforts to ensure that all students and staff feel like they are members of the crew. There has also been an increased emphasis on, and investment in, mental health.

Feedback also highlighted an increased sense of community within schools as well as between schools and the broader community. There are more community-oriented activities in schools and more partnerships between schools and community organizations as we work together to support our children.

Participants reported a great deal of emphasis on high quality and engaging teaching and learning. There is both a more rigorous core curriculum and expansion of experiential learning opportunities. Student engagement in their learning has increased.

There is much greater inclusion and opportunity for students who come to our schools from Spanish-speaking households, and increased focus on bilingual and bicultural learning. There has also been increased efforts to include Spanish-speaking parents and families in school activities and to better partner with them as members of the school community.

Facilities investments have improved learning environments and increased physical safety. Investments in staff housing were a step toward making living in the Roaring Fork Valley more affordable for our teachers and other staff members.

School district communications have become more transparent, prolific, and varied, with improvements to the newsletters, website, social media presence, and bilingual communications. There have been more district outreach, more opportunities to meet with district staff and leadership, and a much higher profile and celebration of district activities in the local media.

Again, the themes above were strongly and consistently cited by participants as strengths. Where we are on the right track, we will keep going.

We also heard, in almost all of the above categories, that the community would like us to go further. teachers,

We heard that our community wants even deeper connection between schools and community, more student learning embedded in community, and more parent engagement. They especially want to see partnership with all families -- especially our immigrant community -- and more parent involvement and dialogue around school-level planning, visioning, and decision-making.

As we move forward, we have been given clear direction to continue on the path of the strategic plan that was formed five years ago, though updated to reflect shifts in community priorities and emphases over that time. We also identified two areas where we need additional conversations across our schools and communities. First, unlike five years ago, the community has pushed for a broader commitment to, and a clearer vision of, equity in our schools. Second, participants pushed us to define what it might look for all schools, families, and the entire community to truly engage as partners.

These are not questions we can answer alone, so we plan to have further conversations in every school and community over the course of the year. We are also working toward a revised strategic plan to be submitted for board approval before the end of the school year. We are deeply grateful to have a community so committed to its children and schools, and to have learned so much through this visioning process.