The strategic planning process began with a community survey released at the beginning of the school year in August 2014.

Download the Whitfield County Schools Strategic Plan
Color Print Edition (16 pages)
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An editorial in the Dalton Daily Citizen called the survey "…a great opportunity offered by the school board for you to tell its members and other school officials the direction the school system needs to go and how it should get there."

The feedback was tremendous! More than 1,100 staff and community members responded to seven questions. Their answers helped principals and district administrators who comprised a 24-member strategic planning committee to prioritize the district's greatest challenges, specify what students need to learn to be successful, and define the evidence that will evaluate the quality of education in Whitfield County Schools.

Team leaders used Robert W. Ewy's book, Stakeholder-Driven Strategic Planning in Education: A Practical Guide for Developing and Deploying Successful Long-Range Plans, to guide the process.

To show the progress of the Five-Year Strategic Plan, Strategic Plan Progress Reports were published annually. 

1. Published survey in August 2014.
2. Reviewed survey feedback from more than 1,100 responses from educators, school families, and community members.
3. Defined educational and financial priorities based on answers to survey questions.
4. Reviewed and revised the Whitfield County Schools Vision, Mission, and Beliefs to ensure alignment with community feedback.
5. Categorized top priorities into six goals.
6. Outlined objectives to help meet the six goals.
7. Defined action steps to achieve the district’s objectives.
8. Established measures to gauge progress toward meeting objectives and goals.
9. Determined who will be responsible for recording measurements and documenting success throughout Whitfield County Schools.

"With strong support from the community and its Board of Education, the school district’s students, staff, families, and facilities have grown through a lot of change," Whitfield County Schools Superintendent Judy Gilreath wrote in the introduction. "We feel this is a great time to update the Vision, Mission, and Beliefs that have served us so well and provide this Whitfield County Schools Five-Year Strategic Plan to guide us through the coming years."