Willoughby-Eastlake Schools plans to 'double down' on engagement efforts

Jan. 9—EDITOR'S NOTE — This is one in a series looking at what Lake County communities and agencies experienced in 2023 and what is facing them in 2024.

Among the most eye opening parts of 2023 for new Willoughby-Eastlake Schools Superintendent Patrick Ward was how large the district is yet how small it feels.

"That's an important takeaway for me," he said. "We might be 7,000-plus students and 13 campuses, but there's a small town feel here and people have tremendous pride in our school district. People have had a lot to say about the future of their schools and what matters to them. That's meant a lot to me."

Ward recently rounded out his first semester with the district but has lived in the community for a long time, he said.

"My kids attend our schools," Ward said. "Coming in, what I didn't anticipate was just how incredible Willoughby-Eastlake actually is. This is a remarkable place to raise a family and get a quality education."

Throughout 2023, the district wanted to be intentional with its engagement strategies to make sure people felt heard and that it wasn't just one time, and done.

"We worked judiciously to start building intentional collaborative structures that'll offer two-way conversation about the state and future of Willoughby-Eastlake," Ward said. "Externally, we've been conscientious about our Coffee Talks, hosting two-way conversations about our schools and making sure that people felt that there was a venue, and vehicle by which to share their thoughts."

Internally, the district has met with each campus and staff members, all of whom have been asked the same questions community members got asked with regard to what they're proud of, what are opportunities for the district to get better and what to do to prepare students for the 21st century.

"We've gathered over 1,000 pieces of data from all these stakeholders and we're sifting through that now," Ward said. "It's been a remarkable 15 weeks from an engagement standpoint."

What also comes to mind is the district's parent and student advisory groups.

"We hosted a business roundtable that was insightful and a civic roundtable during the first semester," Ward said. "Our students have been involved in a variety of service-oriented projects during the first semester from organizing blood drives, our Veterans Day celebration and the North South donation of $23,000.

"It was a week of our students engaged in giving back to the community."

Ward said that Willoughby-Eastlake students continue, at every turn, to step up and have a desire to give back to the community, as well as to engage.

"We have a long list of things they have accomplished," he said.

The district also hosted its senior night out, which drew more than 200 senior citizens.

"We were able to highlight the arts, academics and athletics in a positive way," Ward said.

Enrollment is stable within the district, Ward said, noting that the people, the connections and the opportunities the district provides for students draw people.

"There's not a place in this district we can't find a fit for a student," Ward said. "Our focus is on that personal touch. It's making education less industrial and more personal, and really getting to know every student by name and making them connected to our campuses.

"This district is good at taking care of kids and when things happen here where we need to rally, I've never seen anything like it."

When talking about the sense of community, pride, academic opportunities and career technical education pathways, the district is a place that matches students to pathways where they're going to find success, Ward said.

"These conversations we're having now will only accelerate that vision," he said.

Among the challenges the district always faces is how to communicate the most effectively to reach a much wider audience.

"We're good at reaching families, but beyond that, we've got a lot of people who live in our seven communities," Ward said. "When you are trying to get your message beyond the walls of the district, we constantly ask the question are we being effective at reaching that broader audience.

"That remains a challenge, but we're going to be dialed in on connecting with our cities beyond the district."

Another challenge is the uncertainty out of Ohio with legislation.

"We constantly monitor changes in policy that impact that district and we try to be as positive, and proactive as we can," Ward said.

The superintendent said the district has been fortunate to not have had any staffing challenges with regard to any of the vacancies the district had in 2023.

"Coming into this year, we were staffed appropriately and we didn't have any problems finding, and recruiting qualified candidates for vacancies," he said.

With regard to 2024, solidifying the district's shared vision as represented by its portrait of a graduate is among the plans going forward.

"One of the unique challenges in a big district is without having a clear, sharp focus that unifies all of us around a common purpose, we end up just being north and south," Ward said. "We are going to continue to build on the conversations from the first semester and springboard this in 2024 so that by the end of the year, we'll have identified the competencies, skills and habits that our students are going to need to be successful based on feedback from all of our stakeholders."

The district plans to host a community event in April to flesh out core competencies that make students future ready in order to lead the way when it comes to education in the region and to make sure students are prepared for a world that is rapidly changing, and unpredictable, Ward said.

Additionally, solidifying strategic priorities will be a focal point in 2024.

"Part of being new in a district is, following the listen and learn phase, revisit our strategic plan and ask is this the right plan for this district at this moment moving forward based on what we've heard," Ward said.

Lastly, the district plans to double down on their community engagement efforts, Ward said.

"We are here to listen, this is a partnership and no school district exists as an island," he said. "We have to do this together."