Vicksburg Warren School District (VWSD) Superintendent Dr. Tori Holloway opened the gathering at Warren Central High School Thursday night to present the Strategic Framework 2030 plan by clarifying that the school district is not consolidating into one school. It is his vision, he said, to see the schools in the district come together “as one in spirit and community.”

Over the past year, VWSD has been conducting sessions with a coalition of ambassadors comprised of approximately 35 members of the school, county and citywide community.

According to information presented at the meeting Thursday night, the composition of the coalition was balanced by race (52.6% Black,; 44.7% white; 2.6% multi-racial) to mimic the balance of race within the school district. Another factor taken into consideration was role. A total of 47.4% were staff members (at VWSD), 23.7% were community members, 18.4% were students and parents represented 10.5%. The third factor considered was gender, with a split of 71.1% female and 28.9% male.

VWSD Assistant Superintendent Eric Green said the process of forming the strategic framework has been almost a year in the making.

“The Mississippi Department of Education . . . requires us to have a five-year plan,” he said. “We started with students in the summer (2024) and then we reached out to the community. We asked, ‘What is your experience with our school district?’ We talked to current parents, students, parents who’d had children in the school district 20 years ago. We talked to business partners, and we wanted to know what we were doing good and not so good. From there, we looked at the data and started looking at trends.”

Green said that feedback was vital to forming the framework.

“We tried to identify root causes,” he said, of problems that were identified. He said the coalition asked what success would look like, and how to measure that success.

VWSD Deputy Superintendent Dr. Cedric Magee defined the strategic framework.

“It outlines vision, mission, core values and priorities. It is long-lasting, adaptable and flexible. It provides direction.”

Magee said the framework is different from a strategic plan.

“A plan focuses on the end,” he said. “A plan focuses on daily operations, defines goals and how they are achieved. A plan is time-binding . . . and less flexible.”

Magee also emphasized the Portrait of a Graduate program the school district has previously presented. This effort focuses on training students to graduate with proficiency in “adaptability, communication, critical thinking and responsibility.”

“We are working with our students to prepare them for jobs that we don’t even know exist yet,” Magee said. “But if they have those four things, along with the rigorous academics that we’re giving them, along with the Leader in Me on how to be a good human being, and if you can adapt, you can communicate. If you can critically think and be responsible, you should be successful in whatever comes your way. We’re trying to make sure that our students have those competencies . . . and can be successful when they leave us.”

Holloway said the Strategic Framework focuses on fixing deep-rooted problems. The coalition conducted the interviews that Green referenced, which focused on the views, feelings and hopes of others.

Holloway read a problem statement that summarized the interviews: “Our students deserve a high-quality experience, no matter where they go to school. But the community has never truly embraced the consolidation of our district, which gets in the way of collective action to address real and harmful differences and experiences.”

Other things that came out of the year-long exploration and quest for a new plan, Holloway said, were that the district lacks common purpose and clear unifying district vision, expectations and processes. Opinions of reputation, race and resources impact perceptions of school quality and experience.

“When you say bad things about one,” Holloway said in reference to the schools, “you say bad things about us all. We give some schools a bad rap because of where they are, or what their population is. “

Holloway acknowledged change is never easy, and some may be upset with changes that are going to be made.

Green said part of the framework plan is to increase collaboration between teachers, among schools and to unify the identity of the district as a whole. Other areas to improve included strengthening employee support and amplifying community input, he said.

A VWSD student asked Holloway how he planned to unify the schools. Holloway said there are plans for a schoolwide spring fair downtown next year and he wants to start a minister’s alliance. He plans for all three high schools to be involved in Veteran’s Day and add art classes to every elementary school, if approved by the school board.

The session included a scannable code that linked to a survey for parents, teachers and students to answer four questions. The questions were: What resonates with you? What excites you? What are you wondering? Other reactions?

“My goal is for us to be a school district, not a district of schools,” Holloway said. “Communities rise and fall on education. Every decision we make should be about the kids. It shouldn’t be about our comfort. It shouldn’t be about one side or this side, or red or green, it should be about Vicksburg Warren School District, this community and the kids in it.”