To have a successful business, there has to be a clear mission and/or vision for the organization. The same goes for school districts. Superior has seen growth in test scores, yearly increases in graduation rates leading to 98%, and other benchmarks since implementing the current strategic plan in 2019. This school year, 2024-2025, marks the end of the current strategic plan, and a new path is set for even greater returns for the Spartans.
Superior Learning. Empowering Students.
Mission: Ensuring a superior learning experience, empowering every student for life.
Vision:To become the leading district, where education and community come together for student excellence.
District Pillars
- Student Engagement, Growth and Achievement
- Use research-based instructional strategies to ensure growth and improve academic achievement.
- Amplify student belonging and engagement.
- Family and Community Partnerships
- Foster meaningful relationships through transparent communication, creating a sense of pride and trust.
- Exceptional Staff
- Attract and retain exceptional staff through collaboration, supportive mentoring, and intentional professional development so that all staff feel valued and supported.
- Financial Responsibility
- Ensure our long-term financial plan maximizes resources while supporting our district’s mission and vision.
- Commitments • Continuous Improvement
- Communication
- Safety
- Relationships
- Student Expectations
- Equitable Decision-Making
Developing The Path Forward
The school district has created strategic plans to determine the best course for all Spartans. As the years have gone by, more data has become available to help guide the decisions for the next generation. Discussions of creating a new strategic plan began in late spring of 2024. Superior was entering the final year of the 2019 plan and decided to partner with Joe Schroeder Consulting through this process. Schroeder’s firm has facilitated professional learning for countless education leaders at all levels across Wisconsin and helped develop more than 20 school district strategic plans. Superior District Administrator Dr. Amy Starzecki wanted to ensure that the district had direct input from the community.
“I think it is powerful that this strategic plan encompasses the voices of our community stakeholders,” said Dr. Starzecki. “We had representation at the planning sessions. We did community surveys to try to capture the priorities of our school community and create a vision for our future. The decisions that we make now when it comes to budget priorities, staffing, etc., all need to align with the vision that we’ve created as part of the strategic plan.”
In September 2024, more than 25 people representing Superior teachers, directors, school board members, business partners, community members and parents gathered at Northwood Technical College to discuss specific goals and objectives for the next five years. As the sessions rolled on, the group was often divided into smaller groups of about six people to discuss key issues.
“I went into the sessions as a parent, but then I often found myself playing a different role, depending on the topic,” said Anne Porter, a Superior parent, PTSA member and Senior Interior Designer at LHB. “For example, we were talking about parent and community engagement. So then I would throw on my business hat and explain how the role I play within the district is providing mentorship and job shadowing opportunities. I didn’t feel like I was getting out of my lane in that process to be able to bring those things up. I think that goes back to the environment of welcoming and respecting people to speak up and challenge each other.”
The goal was to analyze recent student achievement data and current academic trends in the seven buildings and identify strengths and priorities. Throughout the process, everyone was encouraged to express their opinions and concerns freely.
“I’ve been a part of various strategic planning meetings,” said Nick Olson, a Superior Parent, school board member and Anderson & Hammack Construction owner. “I had some preconceived notions of the process and what it would be. That said, Joe did a fantastic job of orchestrating the days we met together. He would introduce some broad general questions, and every table would discuss. Then, we would give input and write our thoughts. Then, as a whole, we would break those different topics down into priorities. We started with mission and vision, all the way down to what’s important – what metrics will be, etc. We held different ways of voting on what’s important, and those with the majority moved on.”
After the sessions, the group agreed on a new mission, vision, district pillars and commitments. These were all created to ensure the organization focused on every student and staff member.
“The one pillar easiest for me would be the family and community partnerships,” said Porter. “I’m in the schools often for various events, and I think part of that is if your child is involved in extracurricular sports, activities and clubs, it makes you feel more welcome in each school. When I design schools as part of my job, I realize how much of a community facility it is. It is so much more than just academics or athletics or clubs. When I see the advancements that the district has made as a business partner, from the perspective of LHB providing mentorship and senior project opportunities, I think that could go far beyond.”
Implementing the New Mission
Following the school board’s unanimous decision to adopt the plan in November 2024, the administration team got right to work creating a plan to implement building improvement plans and scorecards to ensure Superior is following the approved plan.
“Starting now and through the summer, I’m working with principals to design the best course for each building,” said Kate Tesch, Superior Director of Continuous Improvements and Assessment. “Our continuous improvement plan process is cyclical and each new school year our work starts in August with our shared leadership teams from each building, and then those shared leadership teams (SLT) really carry out the work back at their buildings throughout not only next year but the next five years. We meet with the SLTs, principals and academic coaches every month to check in, analyze where we are, and use data points to monitor progress throughout the year.”
Benchmarks are still being developed, but they will include data on student attendance, test scores, graduation rates and improvements in reading and math skills.
“I think that’s safe to say that we will still focus on graduation rates,” said Dr. Starzecki. “We continue because we always want a 100% graduation rate. But now, our focus will shift to increasing reading and math proficiency across all our schools. So as kids graduate, they not only graduate, but they graduate college, career and life ready.”
Great Education = Tomorrow’s Great Workforce
Communities and schools are interdependent, but they go hand in hand with creating a thriving environment and economy. Under the new strategic plan, the School District of Superior is making a stronger, more intentional effort to partner with even more businesses and organizations to ensure students are ready for life after graduation.
“We need our work to support our community,” said Dr. Starzecki. “We also need their support in the work that we’re doing, which we saw in the referendum. Our job is to prepare kids to become our future workforce. That is our job, and so being able to hear the voices of our community as to what those skills need to be is crucial.”
To learn more about the new strategic plan, head to ww.superior.k12.wi.us/district/strategic_plan
David Coy is Communications & PR Specialist for the School District of Superior
