District Embarks on Strategic Plan
 | Author:
Linda Kent, MT43 News Staff Reporter
MT43 News Correspondent |
District Embarks on Strategic Plan
Linda Kent
MT43 News Staff Reporter
Townsend’s School Board, along with school staff and administration, kicked off the district’s strategic planning efforts on Feb. 22 with a working session facilitated by Andy Sever of the Montana School Boards Association (MTSBA).
The district last finalized a strategic plan in 2018. That plan is available on the district’s website. A review began in 2020 but was put on hold due to the ongoing impacts of COVID-19. A second revision began in 2022 and was delayed due to significant changes to the school board’s composition after the 2022 trustee election.
The objective of the multi-session planning process, Sever said, is “to identify, ‘This is where we’re headed, and this is the right direction,’ and come to agreement.” The planning process first identifies a core purpose and set of values with an eye to setting the aspirational, long-term, and short-term goals for the community’s schools.
In the first session, attendees worked in small groups to draft the purpose and values statements. These statements will likely undergo several revisions, Sever noted, before being finalized.
Team members developed an initial purpose statement in the first session: “Developing each student’s full potential now and as future members of society and community both locally and globally.”
Planning will continue in a second public work session to be scheduled by the end of March. In addition to refining the district’s purpose statement and agreeing on draft values statements, the second session will aim to draft a “Big Audacious Goal” and define an envisioned, 20-year-plus future state of the schools.
A third and final session will center around trend analysis and establishing one-to-two-year goals.
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Image 1 Caption: Veteran teachers Jamee Cameron (left) and Jami Lawson (right) discuss elements of Townsend School District’s core purpose with fellow educators, administrators and district trustees during a Feb. 22 strategic planning work session.
Linda Kent Photo
