Introducing the District 113 Strategic Plan

  • We are excited to share the Strategic Plan for Township High School District 113, "Cultivating Passion, Unlocking Potential, Inspiring Excellence - Everyone, Everywhere." The document below was unanimously approved by the Board of Education on September 25, 2017.

    The 2017 Strategic Plan was developed with input from over 1,000 students, parents, teachers, staff, and community members from Deerfield, Highland Park, Bannockburn, Highwood, and Riverwoods. Through interviews, focus groups, and online surveys, we collected data that was analyzed to form the basis of our plan. The involvement of you, our stakeholders, has been crucial to the development of our plan, and we are extremely grateful for your ongoing enthusiasm and support.

    The plan summarizes the themes and lays out the vision, mission, and core beliefs based on the input provided by our stakeholders. Each of these items will drive our work in the upcoming years, allowing us to continue providing our students with a high quality education. With your dedication, we are confident that we can educate the whole student and inspire excellence in each and every one of them.

  • District 113 has developed a three-year Strategic Plan to guide future decision-making.  Community involvement is crucial as we strive for continuous improvement.  The District utilized a robust, inclusive process that involved parents/guardians, staff, students and community members/organizations from the very beginning.

    To ensure consistency, continuity and an unbiased perspective, all of our focus groups were facilitated by Felicity Educational Services. The District completed the data collection process in November 2016 to ensure adequate time for a thorough critical review of the intial drafts of the plan prior to finalizing and rolling out the new Strategic Plan during the 2017-2018 school year.

    A timeline of the work is included on this page.

    Phase 1. Identify and Define Vision, Mission, and Key Goals with Schools, Community

    September, October 2016

    Status
    Identify key stakeholders and groups to help define district vision and key goals: School Board, Executive Council, Leadership Team, Schools, Community Groups and Leaders, Students Completed, District approved
    Invite key stakeholders and groups to help define district vision and key goals: School Board, Executive Council, Leadership Team, Schools, Community Groups and Leaders, Students Completed, District approved
    Conduct focus group meetings key stakeholders and groups to help define district vision and key goals: School Board, Executive Council, Leadership Team, Schools, Community Groups and Leaders, Students Completed
    Conduct One on One meetings with district leadership team
    • Dr. Christopher Dignam, Superintendent
    • Dr. Thomas Koulentes, Highland Park High School Principal
    • Ms. Kathryn Anderson, Deerfield High School Principal
    • Dr. Sue Hebson, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction
    • Mr. Barry Bolek, Assistant Superintendent for Business and Finance
    • Directors of Communication
    		 Completed
    Conduct Online Survey Completed 
    Review Work to Date (Referendums, Capital Projects, Course Offerings, Change in PERA, Communications, Websites, etc.) Completed
    Review District 113 Mission, Vision, Guiding Principles Completed
    Review District 113 archival data and other reports Completed
    Review District 113 student achievement data Completed
    Review Previous District 113 Strategic Plans Completed
    Host Strategic Plan Districtwide institute day to discuss Strategic Plan status and timeline Completed
    Work with Districtwide interdisciplinary teams during institute day to engage in "Vision" and "Mission" activity and identify key value statements for the District's new Strategic Plan "Vision and Mission" Completed

     

    Phase 2. Research - Needs assessment, gap analysis, program analysis, personnel analysis, budget analysis, research, etc.

    November, December 2016

    Status
    Analyze data collected in Phase 1 Completed
    Research trends in data Completed
    Identify qualitative indicators (attitudinal data) Completed
    Perform a gap analysis, program analysis, personnel analysis, budget analysis, etc. to structure and triangulate data collected Completed
    Analyze stakeholder perceptions Completed

     

    Phase 3. Write/Modify the strategic plan

    December 2016, January 2017

    Status
    Continue to work with District 113 to create general framework for global direction and priorities for strategic plan Completed
    Continue to work with District 113 to create Mission, Vision and Core Beliefs; Create Draft Mission, Vision and Core Beliefs (Values) Completed
    Meet with Board to Review Draft Mission, Vision and Core Beliefs (Values) Completed
    Continue to work with District 113 to create specific steps that will be taken in order to accomplish goals and objectives that will be identified in strategic plan Completed

    February 2017

    Status
    Continue to work with District 113 to finalize Mission, Vision, Core Beliefs (Values) Completed
    Continue to work with District 113 to create specific steps that will be taken in order to accomplish goals and objectives that will be identified in strategic plan Completed
    Continue to work with District 113 to create implementation plans for elements outlined in strategic plan Completed
    Continue to work with District 113 to create evaluation metrics for elements outlined in strategic plan Completed
    Continue to work with District 113 to identify personnel needs and additional resources for elements outlined in strategic plan Completed
    Work with individual Departments at DHS and HPHS to identify department value statements and add input regarding key objectives and steps for success Completed
    Host Strategic Plan Districtwide institute day inservice to discuss progress, next steps, and provide opportunity for keynote speaker to discuss importance of strategic planning with all staff Completed
    Work with Districtwide interdisciplinary teams during institute day to engage in "Value Statement" activity and identify key "Social/Emotional" value statement objectives Completed

     

    Phase 4. Development of implementation recommendations

    March 2017

    Status
    Formal Strategic Plan presented to Board of Education and Community Completed

    April, May, June 2017

    Status
    Comprehensive timeline and work plan to accomplish goals and objectives identified in strategic plan presented to Board of Education and Community Completed

    July, August 2017

    Status
    Strategic Plan presented to Board of Education during regular Board meetings for discussion Completed

    September 2017

    Status
    Administer questionnaire to staff to collect additional data regarding the draft plan and perceptions Completed
    Host open-ended data collection session with staff at Highland Park High School Completed
    Host open-ended data collection session with staff at Deerfield High School Completed
    Host open-ended data collection review session with the Board of Education to review final draft Completed
    Strategic Plan presented to Board of Education during regular Board meeting for action Completed
    Communications Completed
    Begin to implement new Strategic Plan Completed