The Columbia County Strategic Planning Committee met for the first time on May 31, 2016 from 5:30 – 7:30 pm. During the initial meeting the Steering Committee members were provided with an overview of the Strategic Planning Process and were afforded the opportunity to delve into a variety of data that provided the current state of the district as well as historic trend information.
A notebook was provided to each of the Steering Committee members that contained data under 5 specific areas: Census & Demographics, District Achievement Data, School Achievement Data, Finance, and Professional Capacity.
The Steering Committee divided up into 4 groups and examined census data for the county and school district utilizing an “I notice, I wonder” protocol. Of particular interest were the following:
- I notice: The census data reports that 85% of citizens 25 years or older have a high school diploma.
- I wonder: Why the district graduation rate for the same year is much lower.
- I notice: The census data reports that over 100 Columbia County School district employees are scheduled to retire.
- I wonder: How we are going to replace these employees.
- I notice: The census data reports that the student attendance rate in Columbia County is 93% and the teacher attendance rate is 94%.
- I wonder: How Columbia County School District’s student and teacher attendance rate compare to other districts in Florida with similar demographics
- I notice: The census data reports that the population of Columbia County has grown steadily over the last 30 year, however the workforce has decreased.
- I wonder: What factors impact the number of people entering or leaving the workforce.
Each of the groups then devised a plan for delving into specific sections of the notebook and presenting out findings at the next meeting which will be held on June 7, 2016.
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