The Strategic Plan planning process included a comprehensive environmental scan, fulsome consultation with the OCDSB community, and collaborative discussions among the Board of Trustees and senior team.
Between November 2022 and March 2023, we engaged the community through multiple consultation pathways in order to set the direction and develop objectives for a 2023-2027 Strategic Plan that is meaningful to our students, staff and families. This feedback informed the draft strategic plan, which was then shared with the OCDSB community for additional feedback. The response received guided the refinement of the draft plan to make it clear, accessible and reflective of the needs of the community.
The plan was approved by the Board of Trustees at Committee of the Whole on June 13, 2023. The final approval was received at the Board Meeting on June 26, 2023.
The key areas of focus identified are: Learning; Well-Being; and Social Responsibility. These three pillars reflect the requests we heard to put learning at the forefront of the strategic plan; to support student and staff wellness, especially as we address needs that emerged during the pandemic; and to acknowledge our collective responsibilities to society and the environment. A focus on equity and inclusion is embedded throughout the plan, and captured within each area of focus.
Please click on the sections below to know more:
Between November 2022 and March 2023, we engaged the community through multiple consultation pathways in order to set the direction and develop objectives for a 2023-2027 Strategic Plan that is meaningful to our students, staff and families.
The consultation was designed to gather stories and feedback in order to compile and understand ideas on what the community thinks can be done to improve student learning and well-being. We used a range of strategies, across various formats and geographic locations, with support in multiple languages, to make participation as equitable and accessible as possible.
Six recurring themes emerged throughout the consultation, and were largely consistent across participant groups. It is worth noting that there is a great deal of interconnectedness among the six themes, and overlap in insights presented under each. The six themes are: Learning, Well-being and Belonging, Teaching, School and Classroom Environment, Curriculum and Programs, and Board and Administration.
To inform the new strategic plan, we have also been gathering and considering data, on topics such as student achievement, enrolment trends, program offerings, student and staff engagement and well-being survey results, expenditures, risk analysis and more. This data can be found in the Environmental Scan.
We thank everyone who shared their insights about what matters most to support student learning and well-being. We have heard about your priorities for OCDSB’s future. We heard from you about your experiences and what is important to you. We will be using what we learned from these conversations to develop the strategic plan for 2023-2027.
We created multiple opportunities for everyone to share their stories. The conversations took place in these ways:
Individual, One-to-One Conversations
Students, families, staff, and community partners were given the opportunity to sign up for a one-to-one conversation (casual, loosely-structured interview) with a system leader. Members of the senior team and trustees each had multiple individual conversations to hear stories and gather rich feedback.
Small Group Conversations
This was aimed at a group or committee that was interested in having a conversation and contributing towards the creation of the new strategic plan. We encouraged participation through advisory committees, school staff meetings, school groups, school councils, community partners, student groups, and community groups. We provided these groups with a toolkit to help guide conversations, including strategies and tools for capturing stories and feedback.
Large Group Meetings (In-Person and Virtual)
We conducted large group meetings on these dates:
January 19th, 2023, 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. - In-Person at Bell High School (Multilingual support provided in Arabic and English)
February 2nd, 2023, 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. - Virtual (Multilingual support provided in Arabic, Cantonese, English, Korean, Mandarin and Somali)
During these events, we provided a short introduction which was then followed by an opportunity for participants to engage in group conversations about their vision for the new strategic plan. OCDSB senior staff were there to answer questions.
Electronic Feedback
The Electronic Feedback option provided an opportunity for participants to share their thoughts anonymously and they were able to do so in a language of their choice. We heard from 2308 parents/caregivers, 1138 staff, and 1073 students.
If you need additional information, please email strategicplan@ocdsb.ca and we will be happy to provide you with the details.