YOUNGSTOWN — The Youngstown City School District now has a new roadmap to follow for school improvement and community engagement.

The state’s Academic Distress Commission unanimously approved the district’s strategic plan this week, to guide its academic and curricular work for the next decade.

The “YOUprint 2030” strategic plan, authored by school district CEO Justin Jennings and his team of Youngstown educators and administrators, focuses on improving the district’s academic position today, while keeping an eye on the next 10 years, Jennings said.

“For far too long, the children of Youngstown have started their academic careers behind the starting line. Our goal is to coordinate our existing district resources to ensure they are prepared to be responsible citizens of the 21st century,” Jennings said. “This plan represents a watershed moment in the way we will educate Youngstown’s scholars now and in the future.”

Similar to a blueprint used to design a building, the YCSD YOUprint 2030 defines how the city school district should serve students in the future and the system-level changes needed to get there.

The school district said it will continue to provide periodic updates; YOUprint 2030 can be found online at www.ycsd.org.

According to the plan, the district will follow evidence-based educational practices and cultivate partnerships with parents and the community to make sure its students meet and surpass state education standards. The school district “also is committed to embracing diversity and inclusion practices and ending systemic racism. The district will continue to incorporate restorative justice practices and mediation to resolve student conflict before exploring punitive discipline,” a news release states.

The students will continue to receive guidance to choose a path for post-secondary education to attend college, career-technical programs or other avenues to prepare them to become adults. “YCSD will strive to be a model of success as an academic and community resource. By seeking and internalizing feedback, the district will continue to sustain and improve its operations,” the release adds.

YOUprint 2030 is “built on a more detailed, rigorous curriculum outlined in specific technical documents such as curriculum guides, the ONE PLAN (District / School Improvement Plans), and the Ohio Department of Education Learning Standards.”