Useful strategic-plan feedback connects an observed need with a stated goal and a practical improvement. It explains what should change and how the board could learn whether the change helped. A long list of frustrations is harder to use if the underlying request remains unclear.
Begin by reading the actual plan, such as YCDSB’s 2023–2028 Multi-Year Strategic Plan. Then confirm the current channel for feedback. A plan being publicly available does not mean a formal consultation is open today.
Choose one issue that belongs at the strategic level
A strategic issue usually concerns a pattern, a system goal, or a direction for improvement. An individual student’s immediate concern still needs the appropriate private school process, even if it later reveals a wider question.
For example, difficulty finding translated information across several official communications can lead to a strategic question about access. A dispute about one person’s private circumstances should not be turned into a public plan submission containing identifying details.
Name the pattern carefully. Describe what you observed and how you know it. If your evidence comes from a small number of families, acknowledge that limit rather than claiming it represents the entire board.
Build the feedback in four parts
- Observation: what need or barrier have you noticed?
- Connection: which plan commitment does it relate to?
- Improvement: what realistic change should be considered?
- Evidence: how could the board assess whether that change helped?
These parts make the submission easier to understand and respond to. They also help you remove details that do not support the request.
Use a worked example
Here is a hypothetical submission:
“Several families in our council conversations described difficulty finding the current information they need about school participation. This feedback is limited to those conversations. We suggest reviewing the clarity and accessibility of selected parent communications as part of the board’s inclusion work. A short pilot could identify the most common questions, revise the information, and ask families whether it is easier to find and understand. Please clarify the appropriate route for this suggestion and whether existing work already addresses it.”
The example does not assume the solution has been approved or that all families share the experience. It identifies a manageable investigation and asks about existing work before proposing another program.
Make the request proportionate
Avoid demanding a board-wide change before understanding the problem’s scale. A review, pilot, clearer report, or consultation question may be a more appropriate first step. Explain why the proposed step would provide useful evidence.
Ask for a response that can be given: confirmation of the contact route, a reference to current work, or clarification of how suggestions are considered. Do not describe an acknowledgement as approval.
Keep a record and follow up
Save the submitted version, the date, the route used, and any response. If a later report addresses the topic, compare it with your actual suggestion. A similar idea appearing in a plan does not establish that your submission caused it.
YCDSB’s parent information page can help identify relevant participation routes. Check the current instructions for any specific consultation before sending a submission.
Good feedback gives the board something it can assess: a defined issue, a plan connection, a practical next step, and a way to learn from the result. That structure also helps families communicate priorities clearly without overstating the evidence.
Official source information checked October 1, 2026. This independent family guide is not an official YCDSB publication.