'Strategic Visioning and Planning Process" will chart future for student education in Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District

 A wide-ranging “strategic visioning and planning process” is now underway in the Placentia- Yorba Linda Unified School District with the goal of shaping the future of the district’s schools, which enroll some 22,600 students on 34 campuses.

The process is bringing together “educators, students, families, community partners and local organizations to collaboratively define the priorities, goals and initiatives that will guide student success and district operations in the years ahead,” according to district officials.

The outcome will be the district’s “north star” for the next five years and “turn vision into action,” said Superintendent Kym LeBlanc-Esparza in a YouTube video.

The process began earlier this year with dozens of information-gathering sessions with stakeholders and will culminate with board of education approval in June and implementation starting in July. A board study session on a draft report is scheduled for a meeting this month.

Sixteen district and community stakeholder groups are involved in the process. They include current and recent students, parents, certificated and classified staff, local organizations, business and industry representatives, area colleges, elected officials and booster clubs.

Among the local organizations participating in the process are Rotary clubs, women’s clubs, district cities and libraries, police and fire officials and chambers of commerce.Higher education institutions involved include Fullerton, Cypress, Santiago Canyon, Orange Coast and Santa Ana colleges and Cal-State Fullerton, Chapman and Cal Poly universities, as well as the Universities of California at Irvine and Riverside.

Community forums were held last month and early this month on district campuses, and a survey is posted on the district’s website. Some 350 students from the district’s high schools and middle schools were among the focus groups participating in the process.

For example, a group of seniors at Yorba Linda High School meeting in January commented that they valued the “supportive relationships, leadership opportunities and collaborative experiences that shape their growth….”

But the seniors also commented that they felt “uncertainty about future pathways and transitions and seek more guidance in career planning, financial literacy and real-world preparation to confidently navigate life after graduation.”

And a focus group involving members of the non-profit REACH Foundation, standing for Resources for the Enrichment of Academics, Arts and Athletics for Our Children, which supports district students and campuses, “highlighted strong community connections, caring educators and valuable partnerships….”

But group members also emphasized “the need for greater transparency, student voice and expanded community collaboration – such as internships and career exposure – to ensure graduates develop the social, professional and life skills needed to survive.”