The Rancho Santa Fe School District is crafting a new mission and vision statement, to provide a clear sense of purpose and shared goals that will guide future decision-making and pathways for student success. The “guiding coalition” sessions began last month, a committee composed of parents and teachers coming together to brainstorm, led by facilitator Suzette Lovely of IluminatED Collective.
The latest session was held on March 20, scheduled as a special board meeting so that all trustees would be able to attend and be a part of the conversation. Student voices have also been included.
“We are going to be developing a compelling vision statement and establishing a memorable mission that everyone in our district can recite and articulate,” said Superintendent Kim Pinkerton.
The group will also work on creating a student promotion profile known as a “Portrait of a Learner” that defines who an R. Roger Rowe student is by the time they move on to high school. It will also assist the board and staff in developing a new strategic plan.
The hope is for Rancho Santa Fe to launch the new vision and mission by the end of the school year.
Rancho Santa Fe’s last vision statement was developed more than 15 years ago and the district has been trying to accomplish this work since 2022. They started the process under former superintendent Donna Tripi but the progress stalled and then the district went through several leadership transitions. With Pinkerton being hired last summer, board President Jee Manghani said he believes this is the right time to get the work done.
Last year, the district interviewed three facilitators to help them in their efforts, firms that ranged in costs from $19,500 to over $51,000 for Battelle for Kids, who worked with neighboring Del Mar Union School District’s recent strategic planning process. With staff’s recommendation, the board approved a $19,500 agreement with Lovely, who had a 38-year career in education, finishing in the Carlsbad Unified School District where she retired as superintendent in 2016. In her experience as an education consultant in strategic planning and superintendent searches, Lovely has worked with both the Solana Beach School District and San Dieguito Union High School District.
At the March 20 morning session, clusters of tables were set up in the performing arts center for small group conversations. Before beginning their brainstorming, Pinkerton shared a reflection from her experience the previous day in the neighboring Solana Beach district. As the district celebrated the modernization of one of their Carmel Valley schools, Pinkerton was struck by the board president’s remarks which were peppered with their district vision: “Inspiring wonder and discovery in learning and life”.
She said what they are really trying to do in Rancho Santa Fe is come up with their why, thinking through the lens of what’s best for the kids.
“It’s not as the adults, it’s not about our vision and what we believe,” she said. “It’s about what we want for our students and what our students need.”
With Pinkerton’s words of inspiration fresh in their minds, Lovely set the groups back to work drafting a “sticky mission” that can endure.
Per the timeline in Lovely’s agreement, steps over the next couple of months will include collaborating with the superintendent and executive cabinet to identify priority goals, strategies and success indicators for a three-to-five-year strategic plan. Pinkerton will aim to present the new vision, mission, portrait of a learner and priority goals for the board’s approval in June.
