The Austin Public Schools Board identified increasing enrollment, the I.J. Holton Intermediate STEAM School and community support as advantages the district has during its almost four-hour strategic planning session Monday afternoon in the District Office Conference Room. Board members also identified challenges, such as poverty, student transportation for extra-curricular activities and hunger.

The discussions came as the board reviewed the school district’s road map, which is seen by many people and is a guide through which Austin schools improves education and makes decisions.

The board developed the district road map in 2010, but it looked at it Monday to see if it needs to be updated.

“Ultimately, this one page here sets the tone for the entire district,” Educational Services Director John Alberts said.

The road map, which goes through a formal change every three years, is looked at annually to ensure changes don’t catch the district off guard, according to Alberts. He said there could be changes to the document’s wording that would be brought to the board at a later date.

Along with also identifying strengths and weaknesses, the board reviewed data like ACT and other testing data to find other issues it can address from a district-wide perspective.

“As a district it’s just very important that the board engages in this planning process annually, in particular looking at things like our environmental scan, because we know that both in terms of the community and the state and the country we know that things change rapidly,” Alberts said. “And so how do we become most responsive to student and family, community need, and this is one way that we do so is by making sure that we build this review on an annual basis.”

Board member Kathy Green was excited for the annual strategic meeting, noting it’s important for the board to look at things from an overall perspective.

“I think it’s a really healthy element that we put through and have been doing now, we do every year,” Green said. “It sets the tone and the direction for the board of how can we support learning in the district.”

Green said it is nice to see the support in all areas of the district during this meeting, since many organizers — including Alberts, Superintendent David Krenz, Director of Research Evaluation and Assessment Corey Haugen, Director of Community Education and Communications Amy Baskin and others — come to the meeting and give ideas.

“We are all in this together for what’s good for kids, and by doing this it makes the picture clearer for all of us,” Green said.

“I think it was really a productive meeting, so I was happy with the turn out,” she added.