A Focus On Our Strategic Plan
On any given day in Highline, a student walks into a classroom expecting to be known, supported and challenged.
That might look like getting extra help in reading, participating in a hands-on science project, practicing a second language or finding a sense of belonging at school. Behind each of those moments are decisions about staffing, instruction, programs and resources.
When those decisions are guided by clear goals, and when we are honest about how we measure progress, they add up to stronger, more consistent experiences for every student.
That is the purpose of Highline’s strategic plan.
We are in our final year of our current plan and are currently in a refinement process to guide the next phase of this work.
We are using the word refinement intentionally. We know our current goals and priorities are the right ones. Our community continues to show strong support for this direction. Rather than changing course, we are focused on strengthening how we implement our goals and improving how we measure progress over time.
This work will help shape the next strategic plan, which will guide our efforts over the next five years.
Listening to Our Community
Over the past several months, we have gathered input from students, families, staff and community partners. In January and February, we hosted nine engagement sessions:
- Three sessions for families and students
- Three sessions for staff
- One meeting with the Superintendent’s Student Leadership Team
- One meeting with the Family Action Committee
- One meeting with the Community Partnerships Roundtable
In addition, a ThoughtExchange was open from January 13 to February 17 and received 475 responses.
Across these opportunities, we heard clearly that our strategic direction aligns with what our community values. Participants also shared important feedback about where we can improve how we carry out this work and how we measure success.
What We're Hearing
Several themes emerged across the engagement sessions and online feedback:
- Make sure schools are staffed and ready to support every student, including those who receive special education services.
- Strengthen academic foundations in reading and math with clear, effective teaching in every classroom and consistent ways to track student learning.
- Use technology with purpose and make sure students learn by doing through hands-on, project-based learning, not just on screens.
- Create equitable pathways and expand access to programs such as career and technical education, internships, dual credit courses and choice programs.
- Keep a strong focus on Culture of Belonging and clarify how it is measured.
- Continue to keep budget reductions away from the classroom as much as possible.
- Improve learning conditions and safety by addressing issues like cell phone use and vaping, and by strengthening behavior supports so students can focus on learning.
What's Next
This spring, we will continue to engage school leaders through focus groups to better understand what strategies are working well and what challenges may be getting in the way.
We are also forming advisory groups of school and central office staff to develop recommendations for how we measure progress under each strategic goal.
Clear goals, strategies and measures help ensure that everyone understands priorities, stays focused, and can see how daily work connects to our broader direction.
We will continue to share this refinement work with staff, families and the community as we move forward. We anticipate bringing proposed goals for the next strategic plan to the school board for review later this spring.