Aspire 2029: Strategic Planning Update

Franklin Special School District is in the process of creating a new five-year strategic plan, which will serve as a roadmap to prioritize efforts and align resources. The strategic plan development process began in the fall of 2023 and includes a wide range of input across the district, including voices from a variety of students, families, staff and community. 

Last spring, several focus groups met to provide valuable input and SWOT analyses (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) regarding commonly held perceptions about the district and its schools, their value, vision and promise. A full-day workshop was conducted in the fall of 2023 to categorize and sort this input. That work provided the basis of the FSSD strategic planning surveys, which were sent to intermediate/middle school students, families, employees and community members in February 2024 to help the district determine the areas of focus that would form the structure of a plan to guide the FSSD into the year 2029.

Using input from these surveys, the district formulated three main areas of focus: 
    •    Academic

    •    Belonging/Well Being

    •    Community Presence/Communication/


A strategic planning workshop was held March 4 with 82 stakeholders from a variety of backgrounds who discussed priorities under these focus areas. The concentration on co-creating a collaborative, student-centered strategic plan has been a driving theme throughout the process. By the end of the session, the participants used the survey feedback to pinpoint specific objectives for the district to accomplish in the next five years. From that session, Goal Statements will be created.

No input will be disregarded, even if it is not specifically listed in the strategic planning document. Many of the items captured at the work session are immediately actionable and not dependent on the finalized strategic plan.

Based on the March 4 discussions, as well as data from the recent surveys and brand strategy efforts, strategies for each goal area will be written by the FSSD Strategic Planning Design Team.  On April 3, a full-day strategic planning session with district and school administrators, will convene to create the strategies that will accomplish each goal within the five-year timeframe, if not sooner. Ultimately, this group will finalize the draft strategic plan, which will be presented to the board for approval at the May board meeting. If approved, ASPIRE 2029 will be enacted immediately.