GRANTS, N.M.— The Grants-Cibola County Schools Board of Education held two work sessions on August 7 and 8.
Those in attendance included educators, administrators, and local stakeholders to draft a strategic plan for the next four years. Facilitated by consultants Bonnie Lightfoot and Ann McElroy from Dynamic Leadership Solutions, the two-day intensive session worked to restructure the district’s core vision, mission, and institutional metrics through May 2030.
Standardized Tests
The design group discarded the district’s prior vision statement— which focused narrowly on state standardized rankings—calling it too restrictive and shortsighted. Superintendent Lane Widner said, “To be the number one performing district in the state of New Mexico, that’s a great goal, but I’ve always thought of it… I want out kids to be competitive. So if a kid comes and tells me that they want to go to Harvard, let’s give them the tools to get there… It’s more I want our kids to have every opportunity that the kids in Los Alamos have.”
The group of stakeholders finalized a framework built for universal recall across all 18 communities in Cibola County.
The Vision: Cultivating environments to empower learners.
The Mission: Empowering every student every day to grow, learn, and lead.
Core Values: Compassion, Humility, and Respect.
The Three Pillar Balanced Framework Following a rigorous data gallery walk tracking regional demographics, funding streams, and local climate surveys, the panel utilized a weighted metric to established three top strategic pillars through May 2030.
Student Achievement
• Focus on standardized scores (NMSSA/SAT) and cohort graduation rates.
• Aim for a +20% proficiency increase from baseline metrics.
• Increase the graduation rate from 80% to 88% or more.
Staff Excellence
• Prioritize retaining licensed professionals and reducing long-term substitute dependency.
• Achieve a 96% staff retention rate by keeping an average of 5 additional critical staff members annually.
Safe & Supportive Schools
• Emphasize campus safety, structural integrity, and proportionate discipline rates.
• Implement centralized safety operations and enforce cultural equity.
• Track 60% of baseline connections to ensure a supportive environment.
The decision to prioritize “Staff Excellence” over a narrow focus on classroom teaching was driven by a philosophy of total district accountability. Consultant Bonnie Lightfoot validated this inclusive approach, saying, 'I told all of my teachers, my custodians, my maintenance workers, my bus driver, all my everybody, every one of you is a teacher. Every one of you is an educator because you may have the connection on the playground... that the teacher in the classroom teaching math doesn't have.”
Basing Decisions in Solid Data & Ensuring Campus Safety
Superintendent Widner, provided a comprehensive transparency walkthrough regarding physical operations from the concluding 2021-2025 cycle. Widner pointed to significant achievements, noting the successful openings of the new Blue Water and Mesa View Elementary facilities.
Widner also said, 'We now have the Verkada technology where, you know, we have the cameras and weapon detection and then if a fight breaks out, you know, there's all of these electronic notifications that go to our principal and go to our officers.”
Moving into the 20262030 cycle, the district agreed to prioritize several major infrastructure buildings. These include engineering a brand-new Mount Taylor Elementary School facility, constructing a centralized Professional Development Center, and scoping out a dedicated Career Technical Education (CTE) High School.
Ensuring that Student Voices are Heard
Dynamic Leadership Solutions attendees Lightfoot and McElroy stressed that this innovative meeting aims to empower local campuses with complete ownership over their goals, rather than imposing passive, topdown directives.
Consultant Ann McElroy emphasized the importance of evenly distributed decision-making to include diverse voices, warning against relying solely on directors, teachers, or community members who are upset.
Several board members cautioned against forming “adult-only focus groups” that might exclude essential feedback. They questioned how feedback from students could be gathered effectively, noting that not all students might feel comfortable sharing information due to the presence of their school administrators.
McElroy agreed, advising the board to seek unfiltered student feedback at the campus level, emphasizing the importance of hearing from students and understanding why the school may not be working well for them.
The consulting group will compile the final data and present it to the school board in the coming weeks.