Planning
Strategic Plan
Reaching, Engaging, Inspiring
Strategic Plan for 2023-2028
Dear Union Community:
It is with great pride that we present to you this Strategic Plan for the next five years, 2023-2028. We are extremely grateful to everyone who participated in this strategic planning process. It was especially important that we gather the thoughts of our students, parents, teachers, staff, and community, having met the challenges of the last five years. There were many events we could never have anticipated, but we met them head on, “the Union Way.”
The basics of our previous plan have not changed. Our vision, “REACHING — ENGAGING — INSPIRING,” remains the same. We believe that every student has the right to a high-quality public education, and we are committed to our mission of “100% Graduation, College and Career-Ready.” Our core strengths in early childhood, community schools, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math), and college and career readiness will continue to power us forward into the future. We have made some minor adjustments to our district’s instructional philosophy, including hope, engagement, relevance, and critical thinking.
Union continues to adapt to the changing needs of our community and students. The transformation of our 6th and 7th Grade Center, the centerpiece of our recent $152 million bond campaign, is well underway. Investments we have made in safety, technology, and new programming – including the expansion of our Construction Academy, a new Aerospace Academy, and the genesis of a Medical Academy – are providing our students with even more pathways to success.
I am truly honored to serve beside a talented and highly committed staff. We received confirmation of that excellence by having one of our own, Rebecka Peterson, named the 2023 National Teacher of the Year. Our dedicated Board of Education remains unwavering in our mission and in the success of your child. We place a high value on the trust and support of our families and the Union community. We appreciate you!
Superintendent Dr. John Federline and the Board of Education
Strategic Plan
Core 4
Union Public Schools supports a Core 4 environment in its district: relevance, engagement, hope and critical thinking.
- Relevance - Connecting learning to the present context and future
- Engagement - creating a learning environment that is interesting, challenging and enjoyable.
- Hope - fosterinh pathways of opportunity and developing student potential and purpose for pursuing goals.
- Critical Thinking - developing the ability to solve problems, evaulabe ideas and communicate effecrtively.
Board Members Hear Report on Union’s Strategic Plan
February 12, 2024 - Dr. Todd Nelson, senior executive director of Research, Design, and Assessment, provided the Board with an update on the district’s Strategic Plan for 2023-2028.
“Union is a district known for proactive innovation, a commitment to excellence, a devotion to the needs of students and the achievement of high expectations,” Nelson said. “We have completed the objectives, actions, measures, and timeline for the new plan that is designed to keep us on course. It will present us with new opportunities for our students while supporting a strong and healthy culture among our staff. We will continue to pursue progress toward our mission of ‘100% graduation, college and career-ready.”
Nelson shared the plan’s Strategic Pursuits in five focus areas, which provide guidance for leadership policy decisions and the development of initiatives, programs and strategies:
- Teaching & Learning;
- Partnerships;
- Human Capital;
- Business/Operations; and
- Culture.
Altogether, 40 strategic objectives have been combined into a single document, with organizational overlap supporting multiple areas. Strategic objectives are accompanied by actions steps and a timeline for completion, as well as performance measures to track process.
It will be updated on an annual basis and serve as a guide as we move forward over the next five years.