Strategic Plan Overview

Over the past decade, the Irvington UFSD has effectively utilized its current strategic plan to guide the planning of curricular initiatives, to identify opportunities to enrich student learning experiences, to inform facility projects, and prioritize budgeting.  This has been a useful tool for District, school and department administrators to ensure that each initiative is aligned with that which is most important to our school community.  The Board of Education also uses the structured goals of the strategic plan, through the strategic objectives, to establish priorities and to inform its decision making.  

This year, the District has launched the development of a new strategic plan that will govern the District’s direction over the next five years. The renewal of the plan began in January of 2023 and has involved a thorough process which will conclude in May of 2023 with a presentation of the new and innovative strategic plan for the future. This plan will include a common vision for the District and, through well-defined goals, will identify the direction for the future of our schools. 

To accomplish this crucial goal, the District  has partnered with Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates (HYA), to develop the strategic plan using a four-phase process that includes conducting research, developing the plan, and identifying implementation steps. 

• Phase 1 focuses on documenting the current state and desired future position of our school district.
• Phase 2 is the creation of a framework for broad direction and priorities for the future outlined in a formal strategic plan document.
• Phase 3 is the identification of specific steps that will be taken to implement the plan and execute the identified objectives in the strategic plan. 
• Phase 4 will be the plan’s on-going implementation that will include integration into District, school and department goals, planning through the annual budget process, and status updates to the Board of Education and the school community.

During the first phase, HYA conducted interviews with the Board members and focus groups with students, parents, employees and community members across all corners of the District.  Twenty-two focus groups were facilitated in January and early February, followed by an online survey that received 1,355 responses, seeking further feedback from our stakeholders.  HYA has now also facilitated two workshops with the Board and Administrators, with two more scheduled for April. From these workshops, the overarching goals of the new strategic plan will be developed.  

Community engagement and participation in the strategic planning process has been vital to ensure the plan is well informed by all stakeholders.  The information gathered through this process will help to shape the goals and priorities that guide the District for the next five years.