Strategic Plan

The mission of Robbinsdale Area Schools is to inspire and educate all learners to develop their unique potential and positively contribute to their community."Rdale's mission, Unified District Vision (UDV)

Unified District Vision

Robbinsdale Area Schools is committed to ensuring every student graduates career, articulated skilled trades and college ready. We believe each student has limitless possibilities and we strive to ignite the potential in every student. We expect high intellectual performance from all our students. We are committed to ensuring an equitable and respectful educational experience for every student, family and staff member.

Adopted March 3, 2014; School Board approved modification Nov. 19, 2018.

Overview

We began our strategic planning in the spring of 2022.

We sought input from students, staff, families, and community members. We administered surveys, convened conversations, and hosted community groups. A few messages have come through loud and clear.

Most students are truly invested in their education and in learning. They want to see themselves represented in our curriculum – and to know they have multiple options after high school.

Family members want to know their kids feel welcomed and safe at school, and that they’re learning social emotional skills that last a lifetime. Families also want opportunities to contribute to the climate and culture of their students’ school.

Staff members want our district to excel as we reflect and represent the diversity of our students. When new employees come to work here, they want support that lasts.

We are now taking action to make all these things happen and more. As we incorporate diversity, equity and inclusion into our lessons, we are creating new ways to engage families. We are adding staff willing to work hard in a creative, tough and rewarding field.

Please check the progress dashboard periodically to see what and how we are doing.

Themes and Objectives

At its June 20, 2022, meeting, the School Board approved the strategic plan framework, which is the direct result of stakeholder input during the spring of 2022. This framework includes a number of priority outcomes grounded in equity, four themes, and a number of associated objectives for each theme. See the approved framework.

Each theme has objectives, which have strategic initiatives. Moving forward, teams will work on specific initiatives, and when complete and implemented, will move on to a new initiative.

download the one-page framework document

Strategic Plan Framework
Priority Outcomes Grounded in Equity	Themes	Objectives	Initiatives (those in progress are in bold)
Improve achievement for students of color All students are ready for school Every child reading at or above grade level by the end of third grade Academic and social-emotional growth in middle grades Student engagement in school and learning Student support from families to learn and achieve Clear path and readiness for career, college and life	Strategic Theme A: Academic Achievement	Enhance cultural relevance of curriculum for students Enhance an equitable learning system from early childhood to adults Increase responsiveness to individual student needs Deepen preparation for life, college and career	1a. Implement culturally responsive teaching and culturally relevant instructional resources 2a. Implement a blended learning instructional framework throughout RAS 2b. Transform grading practices to incorporate standards-based grading 2c. Implement a redesigned middle school model district-wide 3a. Establish classroom systems that productively address student behavior 3b. Personalize curriculum in response to student voice and choice 4a. Increase opportunities for applied career experiences 4b. Integrate career exploration within the PK-12 curriculum 4c. Define the essential characteristics of the future graduate in collaboration with our community, and align learning opportunities for all students
	Strategic Theme B: Student Engagement and Wellness	Improve student-staff connection Increase student access to school opportunities, programs, and activities Increase support for student social, emotional, and mental wellness Strengthen practices around student, staff, and school safety	1a. Implement a system to ensure every student has a positive relationship with at least one adult at school 1b. Identify and implement student voice at the building and district level 2a. Remove barriers to student access and participation 2b. Create programming and activities that are responsive to parent and student interests and needs 3a. Build staff and student skills and develop resources to provide support and strategies that are responsive to individual needs 3b. Create and develop student wellness spaces in each building 4a. Train staff and students on policies regarding protocols on staff and student interactions
	Strategic Theme C: Collaboration and Partnerships	Strengthen mutual communication and responsiveness with all stakeholders Expand equitable inclusion and influence of student, family, staff, and community voice Maximize our partnerships and embrace our diverse community	1a. Inform and engage stakeholders through targeted and responsive communication 1b. Improve communication with multilingual families, communities - at all levels (classroom, school, district) 2a. Establish practices that increase family and community engagement in reviewing school culture and climate, and providing feedback that leads to improved student outcomes 3a. Develop strategic partnerships that meet the needs of students, staff, and families
	Strategic Theme D: Staff Investment and Impact	Enhance hiring and retention to support student success Cultivate the district culture to be inclusive, supportive, and welcoming Increase consistency and accountability for common district practices Provide high quality professional development opportunities	1a. Enhance the diversity, efficiency and effectiveness of hiring 1b. Create retention practices for all staff to reduce turnover and build a stronger workplace culture 2a. Develop and strengthen onboarding and mentorship programs with each employee group 2b. Establish an employee culture that is anti-racist, welcoming, and grounded in mutual respect for each other 3a. Create a robust evaluation system, with documentation, that includes feedback to strengthen performance of each staff member 3b. Create a common and comprehensive vetting process to align, implement, and evaluate district initiatives

Dashboard

Progress

At its June 20, 2022, meeting, the School Board approved the strategic plan framework, which is the direct result of stakeholder input during the spring of 2022. See the approved framework. The framework includes four themes, and a number of associated objectives for each theme. All of the work is led by priority outcomes grounded in equity.

The strategic initiatives, which are branches of objectives, are where the work of the strategic plan is done. Since most objectives have more than one initiative, they're being broken into phases. Beginning in 2023, Strategic Planning Initiative Action Teams (SPIT teams) started working on initiatives.

To see the details of each strategic initiative, open the dashboard PDF below, or visit the initiatives webpage.

Timeline

2022-23 School Year	Dates
Analyze employee input on strategic initiatives	September
Report outlining implications for strategic plan framework	September
Senior leadership team to approve and develop staged implementation of strategic initiatives, identify initiative owners and team leaders	Oct. 10 - 24
Review initiative and phasing with Steering Committee and discuss ideas for implementation	Oct. 19
Train Stage 1 Strategic Planning Initiative Action Team (SPIT team) initiative owners and first team meetings	Nov. 7
Present strategic objectives and initiatives, with recommended implementation phases to Board for information	Nov. 7
SPIT teams design action plans for Stage 1 strategic initiatives including budgets	Nov. 7 - Dec. 15
Approve Stage 1 strategic initiative action plans including resource allocations	Dec. 19
Develop a scorecard to measure progress on priority student outcomes, including baseline performance indicators and targets	December / January
Steering Committee update on strategic plan	January
Board update on strategic plan	January
Produce strategic plan report and communication plan	January
Develop reporting and monitoring processes for strategic initiative implementation	January
SPIT teams work on Stage 1 initiative action items	January - June

2021-22 School Year	Dates
Begin strategic plan project planning	February 2022
Process overview and input meeting with School Board	March 7
Review current strategic plan, refine scope of work	March / April
Conduct community survey and virtual focus groups	March 18 - April 8
Conduct an environmental scan including an assessment of local, state, and national trends; performance indicators and innovations of similar school districts; and opportunities for collaboration in the community	March 28 - April 16
Update School Board	April 5
In-person focus groups	April 5-6
Analyze community survey results, other community input, academic achievement, other key indicators, and community trends	April 8-22
Conduct staff survey	April 13-19
Review staff survey findings
Review full analysis findings with superintendent	April 23-27
First Steering Committee meeting, discuss full analysis findings	April 28
Design session with Steering Committee and other stakeholders – review analysis findings, consider potential priority student outcomes for improvement, and strategic themes to focus future strategic efforts	May 2
Work with superintendent to create and draft successful learner characteristics and strategic plan framework	May 2
Present analysis findings, draft vision, successful learner characteristics, priority student outcomes, objectives, and strategic themes to School Board for information	May 9
Community input sessions: May 10, 6-7:30 p.m., in Zachary Lane Elementary School's multipurpose room May 11, 6-7:30 p.m., in FAIR School Crystal's cafeteria May 16, 6-7:30 p.m., in FAIR School Crystal's cafeteria May 18, 6-7:30 p.m., at Robbinsdale Spanish Immersion School's (RSI) cafeteria and multipurpose room	May 10-18
Review stakeholder input	May 15-24
Review input with Steering Committee	May 26
Board confirms/refines vision, approves successful learner characteristics, priority student outcomes, objectives and strategic themes in consideration of stakeholder input	June 7 and June 20
Steering Committee input on strategic initiatives	July
Present strategic initiatives, with recommended implementation phases, to School Board	August
Steering Committee update on strategic plan	September
School Board update on strategic plan	September

Family, Staff and Community Input

In the spring of 2022, district families, staff and community members were invited to provide input to help create the strategic plan.

The district conducted email surveys, solicited input via email and Let's Talk, and conducted four strategic plan community focus groups.

In-person focus groups were held in May, 2022, at:

Tuesday, May 10, 6-7:30 p.m. at Zachary Lane Elementary School
- 435 Zachary Lane, Plymouth – Multipurpose Room
Wednesday, May 11, 6-7:30 p.m. at FAIR School Crystal
- 3915 Adair Avenue North, Crystal – Cafeteria
Monday, May 16, 6-7:30 p.m. at FAIR School Crystal, also in the cafeteria
Wednesday, May 18, 6-7:30 p.m. at Robbinsdale Spanish Immersion School
- 8808 Medicine Lake Rd, New Hope – Multipurpose Room

During this process, the district gathered more than 1,000 individual pieces of feedback from stakeholders.

View the community input session and school board presentation

Steering Committee

In April and May of 2022, the strategic plan steering team met three times to help coordinate the input gathering phase. Members included:

Helen Bassett, School Board Chair/Director
Greta Evans-Becker, School Board Clerk/Director
Toya Stewart Downey, Executive Director of Strategic Communications, Equity and Inclusion
Peter Eckhoff, President - Robbinsdale Federation of Teachers (RFT)
David Engstrom, Superintendent
Patty Flores, RAS parent
Meghan Hickey, Director of Student Services (no longer with the district or on the committee)
Willie Howard, Athletic/Activities Director - Cooper High School
Nina Jonson, RAS parent
Sonya Lewis, RAS parent
Fathia Mohamed, RAS parent
Alicia Morales Garcia, RAS parent
Matt Pletcher, Director of Secondary Curriculum and Multilingual Programs
Mike Rieckenberg, Principal - Noble Elementary
Francisco Compean Rocha, RAS parent
Abby Rombalski, RAS parent
Dena Russell, Director of Partnerships and College Pathways - Hennepin Technical College
Marti Voight, Assistant Superintendent
Anthony Williams, Executive Director of Community Education, Athletics and Activities

District Menu

Explore More

Schools

In This Section