The Missouri Board of Education unanimously approved a strategic plan Tuesday that pinpointed the four priority areas it will focus on, above all else, in the coming years.

The areas are early learning, literacy, teacher recruitment and retention, and success-ready students and workforce development. Specific goals to meet by 2026 are included.

The plan is designed to provide continuity and direction as the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education prepares for a new commissioner and two state board members, one of whom was appointed in 1991, cycle off the governing body.

“It’s elegant in its simplicity. You can understand it. You can repeat it but it allows … the department to align (with) our efforts,” said Charlie Shields, president of the board. “Frankly, if we’re working on stuff that doesn’t fit, we need to question why we’re working on it.”

Shields, first appointed in 2012, said the strategic plan will be clear for lawmakers and the more than 550 districts and charter schools in the state. “The ability to explain that is really, really important.”

Work on the plan stretched 14 months and included input from the entire board, DESE staff, and both the existing and incoming state commissioners of education. The leadership role will soon be vacated by Margie Vandeven and filled by Karla Eslinger.

Three state board members took a leading role in the plan, including Kerry Casey, Carol Hallquist, and Pamela Westbrooks-Hodge.

Casey, of Chesterfield, said the plan reaffirms the core vision, mission and values of DESE. “It is, always has been, and will continue to be, the focus of the department to improve lives through education and provide access to opportunity.”

She said the state must support the four priority areas by providing these foundational underpinnings: Safe and healthy schools; needs-based funding and resources; and family and community engagement.

Here are specific goals in the priority areas:

• Early learning. The vision: All children enter kindergarten ready to learn. The 2023 baseline was 54% and the 2026 target is 60%.

• Literacy. The vision: All students can read at grade level or above. The 2023 baseline was 44% of students proficient or advanced on state-mandated English language arts exams, and the 2026 target is 50%.

• Teacher retention. The vision: At least 93% of teachers are retained from one year to the next. The 2023 baseline was a three-year average of the annual retention rate of 89.9%. The 2026 target is 91.2%.

• Teacher recruitment. The vision: All students have access to high quality, appropriately certified teachers. The 2023 baseline was a three-year average of 3,600 initial teaching certificates issued. The 2026 target is 3,850.

• Success-ready students. The vision: All students leave high school with a plan for career success. The 2023 baseline was 91% of students pursue gainful training or employment after graduation. The 2026 target is 94%.

Westbrooks-Hodge, of Pasadena Hills, said the plan will provide targets that can be measured, refined and increased over time.

“We’ve got to refine these strategic roadmaps on an ongoing basis and make sure that this plan is evergreen and not shelf ware,” she said. “We will be doing that, in partnership with our incoming commissioner as well as our outgoing commissioner, the entire DESE executive leadership team.”

She added: “This process and plan really is the way to ensure leadership continuity as we transition from Margie to Karla Eslinger and we’ve invited Karla to scrutinize the plan in detail.”

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Westbrooks-Hodge said exiting board members Peter Herschend, of Branson, and Donald Claycomb, of Linn, had input. Any new members that are appointed will also have a say.

“The process of updating the plan will serve as the glue to make sure we are all on the same page,” she said.

The board plans to meet with stakeholders about the plan, starting with a June 21 presentation in St. Louis. The next will be in Kansas City and then other parts of the state.

Board member Mary Schrag, of West Plains, said she’d like to schedule a meeting with the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce. “People are excited about this.”

She added: “We all know education is the single most important basis, foundationally, for our state and having a strong K-12 strategic plan is exciting.”

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Missouri school board sets new goals for literacy, teacher retention