Strategic and District Operational Plans

Our Strategic Plan is the roadmap we follow in our continuing - and measurable - focus on meeting the learning needs of each student.

The District Operational Plan is developed annually by Superintendent Ronneberg, district administration and principals, and outlines projects to lead the district toward accomplishing our goals.

We use adaptive planning in Spring Lake Park Schools. Rather than a static strategic plan that attempts to identify all of the strategies and objectives necessary for the next five years, we adapt our plan annually. We focus on improving student learning through innovation within strategic anchors and aligned initiatives. We assess progress and consistently look outside the system at emerging influences as we strive to move from our current reality – where we sit today – toward what we want to achieve – our desired results.

While we have an annual District Operational Plan, we consistently assess our work within the plan and make adaptations as necessary to meet changing conditions. By adjusting our work on a regular basis, we bring greater coherence and alignment to our efforts.

Strategic and District Operational Plan Documents

Parent and Community Participation

We invite parents and community members to provide input, share ideas, and become involved with continuous improvement and innovation in Spring Lake Park Schools. Learn more about the opportunities to work with us to improve the experience for all students.

Short-term Involvement Opportunities

As we design and plan specific projects and initiatives, we invite parents and community members to provide input through a variety of in-person and online formats.

Focus Groups, User Groups, Input Teams

We conduct focus groups, user groups and input teams throughout the year on various topics to gather input and insight from parents, community members, and staff. These sessions focus input on a targeted topic from a small group of people, providing the opportunity to probe more deeply about user experiences, gather ideas, and gain insight about potential innovations. These are usually one-time opportunities that provide participants the opportunity to engage in what we hope are lively and interesting conversations about timely, important topics, without making a long-term commitment.

Community Conversations

Rounding conversations

Ongoing Program Committees and Advisory Councils

The district has ongoing committees and advisory councils where parent and community participants can provide input and insight. The level of commitment varies. Current groups include:

Athletics Advisory Council

Career and College Pathways Advisory Board

Communication and Connections Advisory

Community Education Advisory Council

Community and Industry Roundtable

Annually, leadership of Spring Lake Park Schools convenes a broad group of small and large business, non-profit and government leaders from our community for a conversation about the future. The purpose of the roundtable is to gain their input and insights on the skills and capabilities we need to develop in our students to prepare them for the workforce and community involvement, explore ways we can partner together and support strengthening connections among business and industry colleagues.

Facilitators: Jeff Ronneberg, Erika Taibl, Eric Van Brocklin

Curriculum, Instruction, Assessment Advisory Council

Parents, students, teachers, administrators, and community members gain knowledge about curriculum, professional learning efforts, instructional programs, and assessments of and for learning being implemented in our classrooms. They convey important community beliefs and opinions as they relate to continuous improvement efforts and teaching, learning, and accountability topics in the school district.

Facilitator: Melissa Olson

If you are not an ongoing member of the council, please contact the facilitator if you plan to attend. Meetings are held at the District Services Center and snacks are provided.

November 9, 2023, 6-7:30 p.m.
January 18, 2024, 6-7:30 p.m.
April 4, 2024, 6-7:30 p.m.

Early Childhood Advisory Council

Family Engagement Groups

Native American Parent Advisory Committee

Any family in the district who self-identifies as Native American is welcome to take part in this group which builds community while advising school staff on how best to serve Native students throughout the district. Committee meetings also include opportunities for families to explore important aspects of Native cultures, traditions and histories.

Facilitators: John Franke

Nutrition Services Advisory Committee

Panther Foundation

Parent Teacher Associations/Organizations (PTAs/PTOs)

Spanish and Arabic Family Groups

We currently have family engagement groups in Spanish and Arabic that meet regularly throughout the year and are facilitated by school staff and parents/guardians in partnership. Each group has its own unique goals and structure; however, both share the common purpose of building a sense of trust and community while partnering in support of Spring Lake Park Schools students.

Facilitators: John Franke with parent leaders

Special Education Advisory

Parents of students in need of special education in the district assist with the continuous improvement planning of special education services.

Facilitator: Kaline Sandven-Marinello

If you are not an ongoing member of the council, please contact the facilitator if you plan to attend. Meetings are held at the District Services Center and snacks are provided.

November 9, 2023, 6-7:30 p.m.
January 18, 2024, 6-7:30 p.m.
April 4, 2024, 6-7:30 p.m.

World’s Best Workforce Report

the World's Best Workforce (WBWF) plan for the State of Minnesota. Our work is focused on improving things we are already doing and also doing things differently through innovation. In this year's World's Best Work Force Report, we have included the following items to describe what we are doing to improve learning for each student:

Our strategic plan sets the vision for our district
Our annual District Operational Plan outlines annual projects to move us toward our vision
Innovative, customized and digital learning practices that lead to student achievement
Benchmarks that ensure each student graduates career and college ready
Report to the School Board - Fall 2022

Achievement and Integration Plan

The purpose of the Achievement and Integration for Minnesota program is to pursue racial and economic integration, increase student achievement, create equitable educational opportunities, and reduce academic disparities based on students’ diverse racial, ethnic, and economic backgrounds in Minnesota public schools.

Spring Lake Park Schools’ Achievement and Integration Plan includes the following goals:

Spring Lake Park’s four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate for students receiving free or reduced-price meals will increase from 68.1 percent for the Class of 2019 to 75 percent for the Class of 2022, increasing the overall district 4-year adjusted cohort graduation rate.
Spring Lake Park Schools will decrease racial and economic enrollment disparities in rigorous courses for free or reduced-price meals-eligible students from 3.4 percent in 2019 to 1.7 percent in 2023.
Spring Lake Park Schools will increase the percentage of diverse and effective teachers from 12 percent in 2019-20 to 15 percent in 2022-23.

Strategies and Interventions

To achieve our goals, we are orchestrating specific work using learner profiles and personal learning maps, expanding access to career and college readiness programming and support, focusing on AVID strategies and leveraging student and family advocates. Learn more about each of these strategies and interventions.

Learner profiles and personal learner maps

Learner profiles and personal learner maps are specific tools of personalized learning. Learner profiles provide information about a student’s interests, strengths and needs as a learner. Personal learner maps provide a framework for goal-setting and feedback to help students identify and achieve next steps in their learning and achieve desired outcomes.

These tools actively engage our students and families in the process of learning and allow staff to know their learners more deeply and design learning experience specific to them.

Our graduation rate data indicates that students who move into Spring Lake Park High School during their high school years, as well as students who receive free or reduced-price meals, are less likely to graduate within four years. Using learner profiles and maps with these students helps them to achieve learning outcomes and prepare for the next class, grade level, or step after high school.

Intervention teachers, counselors for personalized learning and support specialists receive professional learning and curricular resources that focus on co-creating learner profiles and personal learner maps with students. Creating together fosters a sense of belonging with students and engages students through a coaching for success model.

Students will receive up to daily coaching and connections, as well as specific strategies and resources to build academic and life skill competencies. Short-term learner maps support goal setting and feedback that moves learning forward.

Career and college readiness programming and support

Career Pathways courses and courses that provide opportunities to earn college credit by while still in high school support students in preparing for their next steps after graduation.

We have a cross-district partnership with Mounds View Public Schools. We share enrollment in specific, identified college-credit bearing courses. One goal is to reduce the racial and economic disparities by providing opportunities to bring students of different racial and/or economic backgrounds – representing the demographics of each district - together for semester or year-long courses.

Cross-district partnership courses will expand over the three years of this plan. Starting in the 2022-2023 school year, Centennial Publish Schools will join the collaboration with cross-district partnership courses. Districts collaborate on curricular work and the teaching of shared courses. Additionally, we provide transportation for students to ensure that all students have the opportunity to enroll across districts.

In addition to courses offered in partnership with Mounds View, Spring Lake Park High School is focused on increasing access to college-credit bearing courses (including AP courses, embedded college courses, and articulated college courses) for student groups not enrolling in these courses at the same rate as their peers. We also are providing additional opportunities for students to enroll in career and technical education pathways courses.

Through targeted outreach and ongoing support to students and their families, we aim to decrease racial and economic enrollment disparities and increase social cohesion within Spring Lake Park High School. For year one, the focus is on increasing access to all AP courses; all embedded college courses and all Pathways courses.

Through targeted outreach and ongoing support to racially diverse students and their families, we also aim to decrease racial and economic enrollment disparities in our child development and teacher education pathways courses. These courses allow students to explore and gain experience in teaching, expose younger students to more diverse teacher aides in their classroom (part of the course programming), and increase number of Spring Lake Park High School students pursuing teacher education programs in college, and hopefully, returning to teach in Spring Lake Park.

These courses are part of a larger “grow-your-own” initiative in partnership with Mounds View Public Schools, our adjoining district. For year one, teacher education and child development courses will be offered only to Spring Lake Park students, with the goal of offering these and additional teacher education pathway courses across districts in later years.

Advancement via Individual Determination (AVID)

AVID trains educators on how to use proven practices in order to prepare students for success in high school, college, and a career, especially students traditionally underrepresented in higher education. AVID strategies support students in developing critical thinking, literacy, and math skills across all content areas.

In Spring Lake Park Schools, AVID is a school-wide program from Grades 5 through 12 and strategies are embedded throughout the curriculum. AVID is an elective course at Grades 7-12, which provides intensive support for students to achieve success in their rigorous coursework through tutorials and strong teacher-student relationships. Spring Lake Park partners with districts within the North Suburban Post-Secondary Success Consortium (Fridley, Columbia Heights, Roseville) to provide professional learning on AVID to teachers across districts. Students across the consortium districts also interact as they explore colleges, careers, and opportunities for service learning.

Student and family advocates

Student and family advocates work directly with students, families, and teachers to help build positive relationships between and among all stakeholders to create the conditions for an inviting school and district learning environment. Some of the critical services advocates provide include:

leading family engagement initiatives that provide resources and learning opportunities for staff and families
facilitating communication between school staff and families from a range of racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds
leading professional learning and coaching for all staff to increase their understanding of their own culture, and the impact it has on their work and interactions with each other
supporting the goal of diversifying our staff by facilitating connections and networking within the district and across our consortium schools, providing additional learning and mentorship, and partnering with our human resources department to diversify staffing processes