This fall School District 72 will be consulting with the community to develop the district’s second Strategic Plan.
The Strategic Plan serves as the district’s road map to providing the best educational experience for students. It is used to focus the Board of Education’s decision making and pull schools and district staff together around a single game plan.
“We are committed to reaching out to parents and our community to gather ideas that will expand opportunities for our students. Our last Strategic Plan set a positive direction for the district and the development of this second plan will only continue to further refine our educational focus,” says Board Chair Michele Babchuk.
A unique feature of the consultation process will be the use of online public engagement software, ThoughtStream, to provide parents, staff and students the opportunity to share ideas and suggestions with the Board of Education.
Through an e-mailed survey at the beginning of October, parents and staff will answer four open questions to share their ideas and suggestions with the Board of Education.
Later in October, the district will host a learning forum with invited community representatives to gather information about community conditions and to better understand the community’s educational goals and needs. Students will also be given the opportunity to provide their input through ThoughtStream at a series of student meetings with representatives from each school level.
“Combining face-to-face meetings with an online engagement process, allows us to give all interested individuals an opportunity to meaningfully contribute to this conversation about the future of education in our district,” says Superintendent Tom Longridge. “This next Strategic Plan will guide the district for the next five years.”
Strategic planning is used to help an organization do a better job – to focus its energy, ensure that members of the organization are working toward the same goals, and to assess and adjust the organization’s direction in response to its environment.
School District 72’s first Strategic Plan was centred on three areas of focus: success for all learners, enhanced community connections, and an expanded and purposeful environmental ethic.