launching an overhaul of its strategic plan, including the definition of core values and the development of a Profile of a Graduate.“We have a good foundation with the mission and vision statement, but we’re really going to define and market our school district around those, and really identify what those core values really, truly are,” he states. ENGAGING COMMUNITY Improving communication is a crucial part of South Dearborn’s districtwide approach. “We use social media really well,” remarks Dr. Ross. “Since coming on board, I’ve worked to complement our existing content with more narrative-driven posts that help tell the district’s story through my personal lens.” His updates tell the story of the district, shared through personal observations and experiences at school events, and are intended to encourage greater community connection.“People get on social media to have a personal, relatable experience, and I’ve enabled our stakeholders to interact with me and experience school as I experience it.” Superintendent Ross also distributes a weekly internal email and a public-facing newsletter, the “Knightly News,” to highlight student and staff achievements and promote transparency.“We want to make sure that people know how great South Dearborn is,” he imparts. “What came through in the climate audit is that South Dearborn is a good place with good people, but we don’t always do a good job of selling that. There are things that we do that our community doesn’t know about, and we need to do a better job of communicating that to our stakeholders.” ADDRESSING STAFFING CHALLENGES THROUGH SUPPORT AND INCENTIVES Although South Dearborn Community School Corporation is supported by dedicated staff, many of whom have served for decades, it is not immune to staffing shortages. “Being on a Kentucky/Ohio line, sometimes it’s harder to get teachers to cross over into Indiana, because they have a different license, retirement, different things that make that a little trickier,” acknowledges Dr. Ross. “Geographically we have a challenge with where we’re positioned, but our principals work really hard to attract teachers to our community.” South Dearborn is working hard to market itself as a district of choice, offering benefits and incentives and striving to give annual pay raises to stay competitive with neighboring schools. A teacher 293 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 05 SOUTH DEARBORN COMMUNITY SCHOOL CORPORATION
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