Strategic Plan - Empower95 (2023-2028)

Empower95 Mission Statement

The District 95 mission was reaffirmed and will be carried forward as part of the Empower95 strategic plan, because "empower every learner to achieve personal excellence" still represents the primary purpose of the school district. The Strategic Planning committee felt this mission statement continued to ring true because "every learner" means students, staff, and everyone who is part of the District 95 learning community. "Personal excellence" represents all learners whose goals and aspirations are unique to each individual.

As a guiding statement for the organization, the mission statement is important. But so is the imagery that accompanies it. In the image above, an aerial view of the community is in the distance, encompassing some of our property and even the original Ela Township High School which captured so many memories as a high school, middle school, and elementary school over the past 100 years. This image represents the community and our past.

In the foreground is an image of rocks being stacked to create a "cairn". The rocks are all different sizes, shapes, textures, and colors, and are part of a bigger plan or purpose. These elements are symbolic and can represent our plans, our stakeholders, our values, our growth, etc. These symbols are here to help us remember and live our strategic plan each day.

Empower95 Values

Through stakeholder feedback and Strategic Planning committee discussions, seven values were adopted as part of the Empower95 Strategic Plan. Values were defined as "what we stand for" or "the lines we will not cross". Most of the values from the previous strategic plan were carried forward: Collaboration, Equity, Integrity, Perseverance, and Respect. In addition, two new values, Academic Excellence and Accountability were added. The Strategic Planning committee felt these seven values were most important and serve as guideposts for how we act as individuals and as an organization.

The imagery is also important in reminding us that our actions and behavior matter.  A droplet may be small, but it's ripples may be far-reaching. In this same way, by striving to live by these values, an individual's actions can have a rippling effect within the learning community and in the world beyond. 

This water droplet image with a rippling effect represents the importance of the actions and behavior of all individuals in the District 95 learning community. It serves to remind us to live our strategic plan each day.

Empower95 Vision Statement:  Portrait of a Graduate

A dedicated team of stakeholders - the Portrait of a Graduate team - was formed during the strategic planning process to develop, incorporate feedback, and refine the a Portrait of a Graduate document which serves to as the Vision for the district. Five characteristics were ultimately identified for the Portrait of a Graduate based on the work of the team and feedback from the broader learning community and the Strategic Planning team. While there are many other characteristics that are important and desirable, these five continually rose to the top as the Vision for District 95 graduates:

Effective Communicator

Global Citizen

Advocate for Self & Others

Future Ready

Growth Oriented

Students at all levels can demonstrate at least some of these characteristics in an age/ability appropriate manner - and will continue to develop these skills over time. Each characteristic is defined by several "Demonstrated by" statements that tells the student, staff, parent/guardian what to look for when developing or mastering these characteristics.

The imagery is also important in reminding us as our students develop their characteristics and head toward becoming a District 95 graduate, the path is not always straight, as seen with the curved stepping stones in the picture. Additionally, the stones near the front of the image are in the sharpest focus - in the same way that we know what step to take next, but we may be less sure of subsequent steps right now. Finally, the background is open but is not clear - much in the way that the future is wide open for our graduates, with endless possibilities.