September 27, 2022 Meeting

On September 27, 2022, the District began the “Design” stage of the strategic planning process by holding our Inquiry Team Kick-Off meeting at Chagrin Falls Intermediate School.  The session was led by Denise Snowden, the Founder and CEO of Coach to Lead.  There are three Inquiry Teams, one aligned to each strategic priority area (High-Quality Learning, Student and Staff Well-Being, and Strategic Resourcing).  Each Inquiry Team has 16 members which consist of two administrative leader coaches, one community leader coach, five to six parents/guardians/community members, three students, three to four staff members and one Board member.

The purpose of the kick-off meeting was to build excitement, provide direction, and engage in meaningful inquiry.  Members were welcomed with a journal to record their learnings about Chagrin and write their stories as we design for the future.  After the welcome and introductions, team members had some time to get to know each other.  The activities challenged the teams to think about the past, present, and future with questions such as “What was the world like if you graduated in 2004-2005, What is the world like now if you are graduating in 2023, What will the world be like if you are graduating in 2035 (current kindergarten class) or 2040 (this year’s newborns)?”

The teams then discussed the four industrial revolutions and the similarities and differences with engagement in learning between Gen Z, Gen Alpha, and Gen Beta.  We also explored different jobs anticipated to be new to Ohio, according to Columbus CEO magazine, in the next five years with the opening of the INTEL facility.  These jobs included automation engineer, manufacturing technician, marketing communication specialist, senior director of people leadership, and software security architect.  The wide range of qualifications for these positions was fascinating…everything from a high school diploma to a doctorate degree in software engineering.

Denise explained in more detail the purpose of their work and what would need to be accomplished by March 22, 2023. The teams will meet at least monthly and are tasked with spearheading the work to produce well-supported strategy recommendations in the form of a briefing paper to the Strategic Coordination Team.  Community questionnaire responses, community roundtables, and other existing relevant qualitative and quantitative data will be used for this initial work.  Members will engage stakeholders through focus groups and extend their understanding of research, best practices, and future fluencies that inform their strategic priority area.  

It was evident that most left inspired with a sense of pride, purpose and direction.  The work these teams will do will not only be the foundation of the strategic plan, but will also follow the theme and direction set for this school year, “This is Chagrin…Write the Story.”  The first part “This is Chagrin” allows Inquiry Teams to embrace our core values, beliefs, and strong traditions.  It also allows them to identify the current state of the Chagrin Falls Schools and determine what matters most to our students, staff, and school community.  

The second part “Write the Story” allows us to start with what we have learned through qualitative and quantitative research and begin to write the storylines for the desired future state of the School District.  These stories will not only incorporate what we have learned from our research, but also guide us in writing the introductions for our future at Chagrin Falls Schools.