WS Chronicle

Calls for changes to the school district’s Strategic Plan Steering Committee continued earlier this week. During a press conference held near the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools (WS/FCS) Education Building, UNMUTE, a coalition of several different community organizations, raised concerns about the makeup of the committee.  

Here’s what we know: In January WS/FCS announced that they had started developing its 2025-2030 Strategic Plan and were seeking input from community stakeholders. Traditionally, the strategic plan is used to determine goals for the district related to student achievement, equity and access, community engagement, human resource development, and climate and safety.  

To help with the process, district leaders formed a Strategic Planning Steering Committee. Decisions on who would serve on the committee were decided by Alex Bohannon, vice chair of the board of education, and Alexandra Hoskins, WS/FCS executive director of systems of coherence. According to an email from Hoskins, they received 267 applications prior to the deadline. Hoskins and Bohannon met to determine the members of the committee based on the quality of the application and the affiliation of the candidates.  

Members of UNMUTE question the selection process and the lack of community participation. Currently there are 56 members on the committee; 41 are district employees. 

Karen Cuthrell, CEO of the Feelings Company, which specializes in social and emotional products and programing, said the lack of outside voices is alarming. Cuthrell was one of the first to draw attention to the committee’s composition. She also argues that the committee doesn’t represent the demographic of WS/FCS. “We will not allow you to push through a strategic plan that was crafted without impacted community voices at the Steering Committee leadership table,” said Cuthrell during the press conference.  

“You reached out to Black and brown communities after the plan was already shaped, but you didn’t reach out to us to help steer the plan … your failure to ensure fairness shows that you lack the necessary awareness to make equitable decisions.”  

To ensure transparency and accountability, UNMUTE has made several requests – including a meeting – with district leadership to discuss actionable steps toward a more equitable committee structure, a reduction in the number of district employees on the Strategic Planning Steering Committee to ensure that community leaders, parents and students have a greater role in shaping decisions, a written action plan detailing how WS/FCS will recruit and integrate Black and Hispanic representatives into the planning committee, and a commitment to disbanding and restructuring the current committee.    

In response to the press conference and request made by UNMUTE, WS/FCS released the following statement:  

“Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools is fully committed to engaging the community in its strategic planning process through meaningful, inclusive opportunities to provide feedback and input for the priorities and direction of the district for the next five-year cycle. 

“One mechanism for engagement is the Strategic Planning Steering Committee, which consists of internal and external participants who share a commitment to establishing clear goals and priorities aligned to the district’s vision and mission. The 56 committee members were selected from over 260 applicants through a rubric-based evaluation process. The process was designed to ensure a well-rounded committee based on district needs, such as affiliation, geographic region, role type, and school affiliation. District staff were identified to represent highly impacted departments or divisions to ensure that the committee had the voice of those whose primary responsibilities involve executing the strategic plan.”