Coventry Local Schools and Windham Exempted Village Schools recently partnered with Summit ESC to create both a Strategic Plan and Portrait of a Graduate to further advance their districts in the years to come and refresh their distinct portrayal of education.
Strategic Plans serve as essential roadmaps for districts, outlining their mission, vision, goals, and objectives. District stakeholders in the community collaborate in this process to create a plan to be carried out over the next several years, working towards a shared vision of growth in their schools. While collaborating with community and district stakeholders, Summit ESC provided expert guidance in developing comprehensive Strategic Plans tailored to the unique needs of both Windham and Coventry districts. When creating a strategic plan, conversations that may not have been held with stakeholders previously are now happening, creating a clear understanding of what matters most to them.
The Strategic Plan is the roadmap for a district, and the Portrait of a Graduate is the north star, creating a beacon of what the plan is working towards. Portrait of a Graduate helps districts create a framework that identifies the knowledge, skills, and dispositions their students should possess upon graduation. Summit ESC consulted with each district to create two unique versions of Portrait of a Graduate; Windham created “Flight Path of a Windham Bomber” and Coventry developed "Journey of a Comet". The process identifies the qualities well-rounded graduates need to be prepared for life beyond the classroom. Windham identified a few core values such as “persistence, responsibility and adaptability” and “empathy, accountability, and creative” were a few values that Coventry selected.
George Fisk, Superintendent of Coventry, underscored the significance of both Strategic Planning and Portrait of a Graduate: “Our experience collaborating with SESC for the Portrait of a Comet and 3-year Strategic Plan was beyond my expectations. From our initial brainstorming to the finished product, SESC provided just what we needed in terms of support, experience, and vast knowledge base to develop two documents that will benefit our district for years to come.”
Summit ESC’s successful collaboration with Windham and Coventry exemplifies the positive impact of services like Strategic Planning and Portrait of a Graduate on educational outcomes for their students and communities. Summit ESC remains dedicated to assisting districts across Ohio in developing and implementing these programs to continue the evolution of education required to support our students and their futures.
For more information on how Summit ESC can help your district create a Strategic Plan or Portrait of a Graduate, please contact Jeff Ferguson at
[email protected] or call (330) 945-5600 x513918.