School District Makes Progress in Strategic Plan for Student Excellence

For any organization, vision is key. For LaRue County Schools, that vision is encapsulated in the district’s Strategic Plan. This document allows the school to determine valuable progress markers and goals for LaRue County students. The Strategic Plan brings the board and the community together to support that vision and create actionable steps to help students succeed.

As Superintendent David Raleigh points out, the Strategic Plan is “living and breathing.”

“As we make progress, we continue on, growing and monitoring how to sustain what has been accomplished and keeping our eyes on where we are aiming next,” Raleigh said.

The Strategic Plan has already found success with the creation of a few programs. LaRue County Board of Education Chairman Price Smith said that they’ve seen “wonderful accomplishments” since the Strategic Plan was adopted, most notably the PreSchool On College Street (POCS).

“Early Childhood Education was an area the community wanted to grow in so we created POCS, and in the last few years it has grown from two initial classrooms the first year to starting this year with six classes and beginning the seventh in February,” he said. “This is just one example of the progress we’ve been able to make with our great staff in the interest of our community.”

Community Input is Key

A fundamental piece to the success of the Strategic Plan is community involvement. Research shows that communities that have higher engagement with their school districts often have higher performing students. The district hopes that by having community involvement throughout, it can better prepare students to be great scholars and engaged, informed citizens.

The upcoming Profile of a Learner project is the next step in moving the goals listed in the Strategic Plan forward.

“In the same way we needed the community’s input for the original Strategic Plan approved in December 2019, we need their input with the Profile of a Learner meetings so we can prepare students for our community’s needs,” Raleigh said.