Students, parents and LBUSD staff shared their goals and aspirations for the district.
The Long Beach Unified School District approved a 12-year plan to reimagine what the future for LBUSD students will look like, at their Wednesday, June 7 meeting.
The district partnered with Prospect Studio—a non-profit organization that works with school districts for long-term visioning and strategic planning—to create Vision 2035. The document will serve as a framework to guide the creation of a strategic plan with strategies and action items to make these ideas and goals become a reality.
Vision 2035 is the product of extensive community engagement and feedback. According to the draft report, the district and Guiding Coalition held 82 community meetings, two Community Installation meetings and three surveys that were circulated.
The Guiding Coalition is a group of 103 students, family members, staff and community members who represent the district’s diverse communities and helped design the Vision.
“Those most impacted by any change should take part in codesigning that change,” Fiona Hovenden, strategic foresight lead at Prospect Studio said. “Power reinforces itself. So to create a more equitable system we need to keep interrogating the roots of power and really trying to undo and sort of expand the circle.”
The Vision consists of four components: A graduate, adult and system portrait and a statement of core values. Each portrait has eight themes, chosen by the Guiding Coalition after looking over community feedback.
“They are the visions of our stakeholders but most importantly, they represent the voice of our students,” Helen Keller Middle School Principal Dawn Lomeli said.
The graduate portrait reflects what an LBUSD graduate should look like, which includes being a/an:
- Future-ready adult
- Equity and inclusion leader
- Trustworthy and respectful human being
- Resilient, mindful and thriving self-advocate
- Adaptable lifelong scholar
- Ethical problem solver
Jackson Hogue, a SATO Academy sophomore, is one of the Guiding Coalition members who worked on the graduate portrait and said he is most excited about lifelong learning skills.
“Things are changing fast, and there’s a lot of problems going into our future and the students now are faced with a difficult task of fighting climate change, other social and economical issues,” Hogue said.
The adult portrait states that the adults involved in a student’s education should be a/an:
- Champion for students
- Positive and resilient professional
- Adaptable and reflective lifelong learner
- Empathetic communicator
- Empowering facilitator of learning
Professional Learning & Curriculum Services Program Administrator Nader Twal recalled how his job description for LBUSD listed all the things he had to do, but not what he had to be.
“These are those things that we hope for and want in an adult to cultivate the graduate [the plan envisions],” Twal said.
The system portrait represents a long-term strategy to dismantle broad inequity within the district. According to the plan, an equitable system should include characteristics like:
- Flexible, high-quality learning with real-world applications
- Global competence and connectivity
- A culture of inclusion, well-being and affirmation
- A culture of equity-centered innovation and creativity
- Future-focused facilities and technology infrastructure
“The system is perfectly designed to get the results we get,” Strategic Programs and Policy Development Director Viva Mogi said. “If we want to improve the outcomes for students and adults in the district, the system has to be redesigned to promote these outcomes.”
The coalition group also identified nine core values that intend to guide the district’s actions over time:
- Centering students’ needs and voice
- Authentic community engagement and collaboration
- Culture of innovation and creativity
- Diversity and inclusion
- Environment that fosters connection, respect and safety
- Equity and social justice
- Excellence and accountability through continuous improvement
- Fostering joy and commitment
- Integrity and responsible leadership
The Vision 2035 plan passed with 4 yes votes and one no vote from board member Maria Isabel Lopez who expressed that her feedback was not included in the Vision document.
