Thomas Vu: Strategic failure – ACPS’s $100k plan lacks substance

Letter to the editor

After two years of planning, nearly $100,000 spent, and countless work hours, Alachua County Public Schools (ACPS) has presented a strategic plan that is nothing short of disappointing. At the board meeting, district leadership tried to claim that an additional “implementation plan” was forthcoming, supposedly containing the detailed milestones and measurable goals the initial document lacked. But how can we trust that this follow-up plan already exists or will be any better? If, after two years and nearly $100k, they couldn’t produce a meaningful, detailed plan for the board to vote on, why should we expect this next installment to be any more credible?

We’ve heard these excuses before, and the district’s leadership is now scrambling to backtrack on what was clearly an incomplete and vague product. If they had truly developed a plan with measurable goals, why wasn’t it included in the original presentation? The fact that they’re scrambling to produce something now, after being called out, speaks volumes about the quality of leadership and the lack of urgency in addressing real issues.

No clear path to success

When our district’s leadership presented the plan, they emphasized broad, feel-good statements: graduating “lifelong learners” and “independent thinkers” who will “excel in their chosen careers.” While this sounds great, it’s nothing more than empty rhetoric without concrete steps to achieve it. We’re dealing with an outline that includes four basic themes – teacher recruitment and retention, system processes, student achievement, and professional learning – but none of them have any specificity that the public or the board can use to hold the district accountable.

Take, for example, the “Critical Initiatives” listed under each theme. The district says it will “implement highly effective practices for recruitment and retention,” yet provides no detail on what these “highly effective practices” are. What are those practices? What are our current practices, and how would they differ? Without a real plan, we can’t expect anything to change. This is all the more concerning considering Alachua County’s long-standing issues with teacher attrition and declining student enrollment.

A lack of measurable goals

One of the most glaring weaknesses of this plan is the absence of clear, measurable goals. When I look through this document, I don’t see any numbers, percentages, or metrics that will allow us to gauge success or failure. It’s all vague, making it impossible to track progress or hold anyone accountable. Whether by design, negligence, or a lack of ability – it doesn’t matter. It’s completely unacceptable.

This failure to quantify success extends across all four of the strategic themes. When it comes to student achievement, for example, the plan promises to “utilize multiple sources of data more efficiently to inform instructional decisions.” But what does that actually mean? What specific data will they use? How will it be analyzed? What are the benchmarks for success? The district isn’t saying, and it leaves us guessing.

Duplicitous effort at accountability

Let’s not forget, this plan is a “fluid” document. Superintendent Shane Andrew said it would remain flexible and subject to change. While flexibility in response to obstacles is necessary, this reads more like an escape hatch for district leadership. What happens when the district misses its vague targets? They’ll claim they were just being “fluid.”

There’s a reason our community is demanding accountability. We’ve watched our district’s performance lag behind expectations for years, and recently it has started to lag behind the state. Now, ACPS leadership has the audacity to present this flimsy strategy, thinking it will suffice. They’re counting on the public not looking too closely, but we must hold them to a higher standard.

A waste of resources

This entire strategic planning process took two years and cost the district $98,000. For that amount of money, we deserve much more than a glorified PowerPoint. The strategy map is just a collection of buzzwords and generic goals. Worse, it’s obvious that the district leadership is either not skilled enough to create a meaningful plan or, even worse, purposely avoided creating one to escape accountability.

What we needed was a strategic plan that addresses real problems in the district: failing grades, teacher shortages, lack of resources, and crumbling infrastructure. Instead, what we received was a document that could be mistaken for something written by a middle schooler – not the work of highly paid district administration.

Time to demand better

This district has failed to serve its students, teachers, and the community for too long. The School Board needs to start holding leadership accountable for their repeated failures and demand real results. If ACPS leadership can’t deliver on even the basic fundamentals of strategic planning, then how can we trust them to implement a plan that will improve outcomes for our kids?

The era of vague, feel-good statements must end. Alachua’s students and staff deserve better, and so does the community. Let’s demand accountability, measurable goals, and a real plan – one that can actually deliver results.

What should a real strategic plan look like?

Here’s what ACPS should have done differently, and what a real strategic plan must include:

1. Set specific, measurable goals

For any strategic plan to succeed, there must be clear targets to hit. ACPS should set measurable objectives across all areas. For example:

• Teacher Recruitment and Retention: Set a target for reducing teacher turnover by 10% or greater within two years, with data-driven strategies to support retention, such as increasing teacher agency, structures to give them real input, and mentorship programs for new teachers.
• Student Achievement: Increase proficiency in reading and math at the elementary school level by a percentage annually, with a specific focus on the schools and subgroups currently lagging the most. Use existing tools like DIBELS and FAST data to track progress monthly.

2. Include benchmarks and milestones

Break the plan into actionable, time-sensitive milestones. For example, by the end of Year 1, we should see increased parent engagement through workshops, meetings, or text/email surveys, monitored by participation metrics. Stakeholder survey results should improve by at least 15% by Year 2.

3. Provide transparency and accountability

Regular, transparent reporting should be built into the plan, utilizing specific metrics set by board policy. The public deserves quarterly updates that explain progress, setbacks, and the actions taken to address both. The failure to meet benchmarks should come with consequences, including reassessing leadership roles if needed. We must move from vague promises to concrete commitments.

4. Real teacher support and professional development

ACPS claims professional development is a focus area, but where are the details? Professional learning should be centered around building relationships with students, data-driven instruction, and classroom management techniques. Create pathways for teachers to grow professionally while receiving meaningful, hands-on coaching from instructional leaders. We also need to create structures that save our teachers time and energy – teaching is increasingly becoming an unsustainable profession, and the district needs to stop implementing policies that require teachers and staff to do more while district leaders do less.

5. Early intervention for struggling students

Addressing student achievement means starting early. A successful plan would include interventions for struggling students starting in Kindergarten, with robust data tracking and flexible, targeted support systems. These efforts should focus not only on raising test scores but ensuring students are fully prepared for the next academic level.

6. Maximize resource efficiency

If ACPS can’t afford to pay for basic supplies or maintain facilities, then a plan to reassess resource allocation is necessary. Prioritize investments in areas that directly impact student outcomes: instructional materials, teacher compensation and support, and essential infrastructure repairs.

By adopting measures like these, ACPS district administration could transform its current vague, buzzword-filled plan into a meaningful roadmap for improvement. Our students, teachers and staff, and our families deserve nothing less than a concrete, ambitious, and transparent plan to improve the future of education in Alachua County.

Thomas Vu
Alachua County School Board Member-Elect, District 2

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