Jacob Dimond / jake@yelmonline.com
In an effort to meet Yelm Community Schools’ mission of empowering every student to reach their full potential, the district created a strategic planning committee to map out the steps needed to ensure that objective is met.
During a YCS Board of Directors meeting on Thursday, Jan. 22, members of the strategic planning committee provided an update on where the district is at with the strategic plan.
Dr. Lisa Cadero-Smith, YCS assistant superintendent, said all of the work with the YCS strategic plan has happened under the direction of Chris Woods, superintendent.
“This was part of his work when he came in, and he headed up and shaped this process,” Cadero-Smith said. “A lot of, including a lot of members of the community and a couple of us at the table, were an active part of that process. One of the things that was very clear, that we acknowledged from the start, was the importance of community — that it’s really one of our three pillars.”
Cadero-Smith believes now is an opportunity for YCS to “live out” the importance of the local community. Additionally, she knows it’s important that the strategic plan guides the district through both good and bad times.
The strategic plan itself has three “big overarching goals” of learning, belonging and community.
“Within that, we have 11 activities and goals, and our schools are all centered around that work through their school improvement planning process,” Cadero-Smith said. “The strategic plan team met on Nov. 13, came back together, and what we did was kind of a fall report.”
She added that the strategic planning committee talked about the communication that has occurred with the plan thus far, and about how metrics are being used to measure goals within the plan.
“As always, each time we have one of those meetings, we reflect that back out to the entire committee. We provide the minutes and reflect the work back,” Cadero-Smith said. “So we’re really getting started. We are in the building phase. This is a five-year plan. We’re looking at our systems. We’re stress testing out systems. We’re creating new ones where they don’t currently exist in a way that’s as effective as we need it to be. Most importantly, we are remaining open to our staff and to our community. This is a very recursive process.
“We think it’s important that you hear from other people, not just us, but people who are present in those meetings,” she continued.
Cadero-Smith introduced two members of the strategic planning committee, Tanya Edwards and Daryn Walter, and allowed them to speak about the importance of the plan and the work that’s gone into it so far.
Edwards, a longstanding member of the YCS community and a Yelm resident since 1978, said she’s proud to call Yelm her home.
“Yelm has always been my home, and over the years, I have witnessed many changes to both the school district and broader community,” she said. “I am grateful for the collaboration and dedication of our students, families, educators and community all together. Tonight, I’m excited to share what we’ve accomplished together and how we will continue to work to make Yelm a stronger, more supportive place for all.”
Walter, a teacher at Ridgeline Middle School and a current administrative intern, said that he loves Yelm and that the district is “so much different” than his previous district of employment.
“I was from Federal Way public schools. It’s different vibes here,” Walter said. “I love the small town vibes and community aspects. I know there’s lots of talk right now about levy failures and there’s things happening outside of our schools, but even with all that, I still feel the community in a positive way.”
Walter first highlighted data accumulated from the strategic plan, and said student performance within YCS has remained consistent with Washington state educational benchmarks.
“Even with all the setbacks we’re having, schools are still putting their best foot forward,” Walter said. “Speaking as a teacher, yeah, it sucks, but it’s not the kids fault we’re in the predicament we’re in. We’re still gonna show up every day and give them the best we can with what we have.”
He added that special needs is “exceeding state averages in terms of need,” but maintained that attendance is still a big area of concern for YCS.
“We’re talking to people about what can we do, and how can we get kids to show up and come to school?” Walter said. “One thing I like about our strategic planning, and just how we’re going about it, is we’re using the fall data. Not as a judgement of where we’re at, but as a directive of where we started and where we’re going. I like it in terms of being consistent and checking back in.”
Edwards added that the committee has been looking at improving student engagement with different activities like “goal setting Wednesdays” and “no tardy parties” and will continue to prioritize student belonging and voice. She also emphasized the importance of retaining high performing staff within YCS.
“It’s extremely important to hang on to (high performing staff) that the kids adore, thrive with and grow with,” Edwards said. “When you lose great educators, you tend to lose great students and their interest to learn as well.”
The YCS strategic planning committee will look at the data next on Thursday, March 5. Walter said members will discuss where the plan is trending, what the committee can work on and how it can improve.
