Youth Master Plan is in development

Effort a result of WJUSD and city partnership

The Woodland School District and the city of Woodland announced a partnership this week to create a Youth Master Plan for the youth of Woodland.

The preparation of a plan is a concept that originated from a request made by WJUSD Trustee Rogelio Villagrana to the city of Woodland, Woodland Joint Unified School District, Woodland Community College, and the Yolo County Office of Education to engage in strategic efforts to increase supports and opportunities for the children and young adults of Woodland.

The preparation of the plan also strengthens an already positive relationship that WJUSD shares with the city of Woodland. In Woodland, many stakeholders provide services for youth. These services include protecting their safety and helping them develop into successful and healthy adults.

A Youth Master Plan is a roadmap that guides community stakeholders in supporting youth. The plan helps define a future vision based on input from the stakeholders and youth. In addition, it helps hold organizations accountable for serving the youth of the city.

Key elements of the Youth Master Plan would include:

• Engage key stakeholders throughout the community.

• Establish and promote a shared vision for youth.

• Assess needs and design comprehensive strategies.

• Create a framework for shared accountability.

• Coordinate city, school, and other community efforts.

• Provide a direct link between plan goals and objectives to the City General Plan, the School District Local Control Accountability Plan, and the Community College Strategic Plan.

“I am extremely happy to see that we are moving forward in the development of the Woodland Youth Master Plan,” Villagrana stated. “I am looking forward to what the community identifies as the most crucial pillars of youth success. Increasing the number of positive supports and opportunities will strengthen the likelihood that Woodland youth will grow up to be successful, healthy, and happy adults.”

“The effort to develop a Youth Master Plan is a positive step for our young and a sincere effort to identify needs, opportunities, and responsibilities among all of us who serve the youth of our community,” Mayor Tom Stallard stated. “The important thing is making sure that we come up with a working document that will be implemented and not just a dust catcher. In passing Measure R and thereby renewing Measure J, the voters have indicated their strong support for our kids.”

The Youth Master Plan Initiative will be facilitated by the Youth Development Network. This organization has prepared countless youth master plans.

It is anticipated that phase 1 would commence in January 2021 and be completed in April. The goals of this phase include to gain commitment to the Youth Master Plan Initiative from key community stakeholders that support and interact with young people in Woodland.

Phase 2 is to capture the thoughts, feelings, and opinions of Woodland’s young people and guardians as it pertains to the support and opportunities they receive within the community, and phase 3 would be to engage identified key community stakeholders and their department/organization teams in a learning community that focuses on the youth development framework for practice, youth engagement strategies, and facilitating virtual meetings.