Litchfield Schools Adopt Five-Year Strategic Plan With Student Input

Litchfield CUSD #12 Board of Education Meeting | May 19, 2026

Article Summary: The Litchfield Community Unit School District No. 12 Board of Education on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, unanimously approved a five-year strategic plan built over four months of stakeholder meetings, capping a process that included board interviews, community surveys, and direct participation from district students.

Strategic Plan Key Points:

• The plan was developed through seven board “SWOT” interviews, student/staff/family surveys, and six meetings held from January through April, facilitated by consultants from Student-Centered Services.
• It establishes a district tagline (“Honoring Our Roots. Building Our Future.”), a “Portrait of a Graduate,” mission and vision statements, six core values, and goals across five categories.
• Three students presented portions of the plan to the board and described being treated as equal voices at the planning table.
• The board’s next step is building action steps, with consultants returning the following week to begin that work.

LITCHFIELD — The Litchfield Community Unit School District No. 12 Board of Education on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, unanimously approved a five-year strategic plan that lays out the district’s mission, vision, values and goals through a roadmap shaped by months of community input and direct student participation.

The plan was presented by two consultants from a firm identified as Student-Centered Services, who introduced themselves only by first name as Brad and Jason, alongside three district students who walked the board through major sections of the document. Superintendent Dr. Kelly McClain recommended approval and the board adopted the plan by roll-call vote.

A Four-Month, Stakeholder-Driven Process

One consultant described the work as beginning in November and December with seven board of education SWOT interviews — examining the district’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats — which served as a baseline for the planning committee. McClain and her team then distributed student, staff and family surveys, along with community input, to gather additional data. From January through April, the committee held six meetings featuring information sessions, brainstorming and roundtable discussions, supplemented by weekly check-in meetings with McClain to catch any “mistakes, changes, or red flags” as the work progressed.

“As much as we want it to be organic, we also don’t want to come up with something that could be detrimental to the district over time, but also provides a road map,” the consultant said, describing the plan as a five-year guide rather than a finished document.

The consultants framed the plan around a travel-map theme and the tagline “Honoring Our Roots. Building Our Future.” From there, the committee built a “Portrait of a Graduate” defining six qualities the district hopes to instill in its students: communication, community-minded citizenship, critical thinking, empathy, resilience and self-management. According to the consultants, empathy scored highest among the characteristics the committee weighed.

Students at the Table

A notable feature of the presentation was the participation of three students, who shared both the substance of the plan and their experience of the process. One student said a favorite part was meeting new people and talking with the community members who attended the meetings. Another, who attended only the final two or three sessions, described being struck by how many community members and staff “cared about Litchfield’s future and the youth.”

A third student, who said they were the only student at their table, told the board, “I felt very included by the adults at my table. I was the only student and I feel like they listened to every word I said and all the suggestions I made.”

The consultant said the firm’s student-centered approach made that participation central: “What we can’t lose sight of [is] that kids’ lenses and their voices are important.” McClain later noted that the committee at one point took a comment from a student named Parker and wrote it directly into one of the district’s goals.

Students Faith, Payton and Parker presented the mission statement, vision statement, values and goal sections during the meeting.

Mission, Vision and Five Goal Areas

The adopted mission statement commits the district to “serving our students, staff, and community through meaningful education, shared pride, and daily inspiration,” with a pledge to empower every learner to become a successful, independent and contributing member of society. The vision statement describes Litchfield as striving to be a place where every student is acknowledged, inspired and challenged.

The district’s six values, each paired with a short definition the committee crafted, are integrity, opportunity, respect, innovation, community and service, and excellence.

The heart of the plan is its goal section, organized into five categories: climate and culture; facilities and learning environment; family and community connections; governance, finance and operations; and teaching and learning. The consultant said keeping the goals broad enough to allow administrators and teachers to develop specific action steps over five years was “probably the longest process” of the effort. The facilities goals include creating a comprehensive five-year facilities plan and evaluating improvements to fan accommodations — seating, restroom access, concession areas and parking — across athletic and activity facilities.

McClain emphasized the plan is not finished. “It’s just the goals,” she said, noting she would meet with the consultants the following week to begin building action steps. “It’s one thing to create goals but if you don’t build action steps and stuff to draft and monitor then it’s a shelf document,” the consultant added, saying the district would see annual updates in the years ahead.

McClain thanked the stakeholder groups involved, including students, staff and community members, and recognized two administrators referenced in the transcript only by name as Dr. Henderson and a name rendered “Dr. Scuridge” for their participation throughout.