School District Seeks Input in Planning for Future

The Whitefish Bay School District is in the process of charting the course to the district's future, and now the district is encouraging the greater community to join the journey.

Whitefish Bay School District Superintendent Mary Gavigan said the district has launched its strategic planning initative, which aims to update the district's existing Focus Plan and take into account the assets, challenges and culture of the community.

The district’s Focus Plan was first developed in 2001. The district has an even longer history of planning goals, priorities, the allocation of resources, and establishing benchmarks for improvement, Gavigan said.

To update the plan, the district formed a visioning and planning team of 32 people, including staff, administrators, advocacy organizations, students, parents and the School Board.

The team plans to build on the past successes of the district, while at the same time considering new possibilities, Gavigan said.

“As this occurs we are committed to taking our strengths with us to the future, while also not allowing our successes slow us down to becoming yet a better school district,” Gavigan said. “There really is not a better time than right now to renew and create our collective community vision around what we want for our schools.”

The visioning team met in mid-March with external facilitators from Cardinal Stritch University. Now, Gavigan said the district hopes to bring in additional voices from the community at large.

The district will be hosting a series of focus groups in late April and early May, with specific dates and times to be determined.

For those interested in participating in a focus group, please contact Kellie Sigh, Secretary to the District Administrator, by April 19 at 963-3901 or email at Kellie.Sigh@wfbschools.com.

The visioning team will then reconvene in late May to develop an updated Focus Plan and finally, forward the plan to the board in June or July. The district's goal is to have a plan to share by the beginning of the next school year.