The Harrisonville Schools District Strategic Planning Committee met on May 11 to assess the district’s Comprehensive School Improvement Plan (CSIP). During the annual review meeting, district administrators provided updates to the Committee on 4 action plans that were continued from last year and 6 initiated during the 2025-26 school year. The committee then determined if the action plans were achieved (completed and no further action needed); operational (part of the district’s day-to-day operations); in progress (still work to be done); or not started. Below is a summary of the reports and actions determined by the committee.
- Superintendent Dr. Josh Chastain provided a progress report on strategy 1.3 to utilize community partnerships to support a soft skills curriculum K-12. He shared actions the district has taken to support the action plan, including contracting with CESO in April 2026 to facilitate the development of the district’s Portrait of a Wildcat initiative. The portrait process will include students, staff, parents, community members, and business leaders and will serve as the foundation for future soft skills and professional skills curriculum work across the district. The action plan status was determined to be “in progress” by the committee.
- Director of Communications Jayden Love provided a progress report on strategy 2.2 to increase family involvement and systems of community support. She shared actions the district has taken to support the action plan, including welcoming 25 new families into the Parents As Teachers (PAT) program during the 2025-26 school year and completing 218 family visits as of the end of March. Additional actions included creating a new family “living room” space at Harrisonville Early Childhood Center, expanding PAT programming with Infant Massage classes and enhanced educational playgroups, hosting meetings with local childcare providers to identify childcare gaps, and hosting the first annual ECC Carnival for early childhood families. The committee determined this action plan to be “operational.”
- Dr. Chastain provided a progress report on strategy 2.3 to implement a program to meet before- and after-school childcare needs. He shared actions the district has taken to support the action plan, including opening Wildcat Club in August 2025 to provide before- and after-school care for preschool students and siblings, expanding programming to Harrisonville Elementary School in November 2025, and hiring two site coordinators to oversee daily operations. District leaders also shared plans for summer camp opportunities, before- and after-school care during summer school, and expanded programming options for elementary students. The committee determined this action plan to be “operational.”
- Dr. Chastain provided a progress report on strategy 3.1 to increase the number of quality applicants for open positions. He shared actions the district has taken to support the action plan, including participation in recruitment fairs at several universities, exploration of compensation opportunities for student teachers, earlier hiring practices for anticipated openings, and implementation of the Frontline application and onboarding system. Additional support included districtwide substitute and uncertified staff training opportunities, the Beginning Teacher Assistance Program, and ongoing leadership coaching through Dr. Regina Owens. The committee determined this action plan to be “operational.”
- Dr. Chastain provided a progress report on strategy 3.2 to increase retention of quality staff within the district. He shared actions the district has taken to support the action plan, including implementing biannual staff surveys to gather feedback regarding workplace satisfaction and staff experience, expanding childcare opportunities for staff families through Wildcat Club and Kidz Inc., and increasing collaboration time through the district’s PLC initiative. District leaders also shared plans for a partnership with Southwest Baptist University to offer master’s degree courses taught by Harrisonville staff for Harrisonville staff. The committee determined this action plan to be “operational.”
- Dr. Chastain provided a progress report on strategy 4.2 to take reasonable steps to mitigate environmental risks. He shared actions the district has taken to support the action plan, including updates to the district’s Comprehensive Emergency Operations Plan to comply with Senate Bill 68, implementation of Get The Lead Out requirements, development of a Cardiac Emergency Response Plan, and continued use of the I Love U Guys Foundation emergency response protocols. Additional updates included air quality improvement measures, Stop the Bleed training, and district guidelines related to weather and activity cancellations. The committee determined this action plan to be “operational.”
- Dr. Knox provided a progress report on strategy 5.3 to implement Professional Learning Community (PLC) practices throughout the district. She shared actions the district has taken to support the action plan, including sending staff members and administrators to PLC conferences, establishing guiding coalition teams in each building, prioritizing common collaboration times for teacher teams, and restructuring instructional support systems throughout the district. Additional efforts included book studies, coaching cycles for new educators, and districtwide professional development planning. The committee determined this action plan to be “operational.”
- Dr. Knox provided a progress report on strategy 5.4 to deliver a guaranteed, uniform, and viable curriculum to students. She shared actions the district has taken to support the action plan, including curriculum writing and collaboration time during professional development days, implementation of universal unit plan templates aligned to Missouri Priority Standards, and adoption of research-based instructional resources in ELA and math. District leaders also shared progress on districtwide essential standards work and curriculum writing completion across grade levels. The committee determined this action plan to be “operational.”
- Dr. Knox provided a progress report on strategy 7.1 to provide professional development to enhance staff understanding of social-emotional needs and develop skills to support students’ well-being. She shared actions the district has taken to support the action plan, including professional development presentations from Dr. Ryan Maid, Josh Varner, Heather Friziellie, and Dr. Regina Owens focused on culture, stress management, and supporting all learners. The committee determined this action plan to be “operational.”
- Dr. Knox provided a progress report on strategy 7.5 to implement systems of support to increase access for all students to participate in extracurricular activities. She shared actions the district has taken to support the action plan, including support from Bright Futures and community donors to assist student participation and implementation of academic expectation “blue cards” for athletics and activities. The committee determined this action plan to be “in progress.”
Additionally, Dr. Chastain led the committee in a discussion of two academic goals required for MSIP 6 that necessitated amending of language in the strategic plan.
Strategy 5 was revised to provide more specific measures for student achievement and data measures. The updated strategy was voted on by the committee and now states the district will “develop and implement plans to increase student achievement and expand learning opportunities measured by Market Value Asset data, iReady growth data and state assessment performance data.”
Additionally, Action Plan 5.2 was revised to include more clearly defined academic growth goals. The updated language was voted on by the committee and now focuses on providing “high quality evidence based instructional practices that result in 5% growth annually on ELA state assessments” and “high quality evidence based instructional practices that result in 5% growth annually on Math state assessments.”
This summer, district administrators will select action plans to focus on for the 2026-27 school year and share them with the committee and staff. Work will continue on any action plans determined to be “in progress” as well. The District Strategic Planning Committee will then reconvene next spring to review the status of active action plans. The current strategic plan will guide the district’s work through 2029. To view the district’s strategic plan, visit the district website at Harrisonville Schools Strategic Plan.
