Townsend School District Works Toward Developing Vision And Goals
Author: Linda Kent, MT43 News Staff Reporter
Linda Kent
MT43 News Staff Reporter
A small group of Townsend School District staff, administrators, and trustees met on April 4 for the second of three strategic planning sessions. This session focused on gaining agreement on draft purposes and values statements and using those to develop a first pass at a “big audacious goal”.
“It is one of the foundational roles of school board trustees to maintain a long-term outlook for the school district,” School Board Chairman Jason Noyes said of the strategic planning process. “It is important that we engage employees, trustees, and the community to strengthen our operations and ensure we are all working toward common goals.”
The draft core purpose, a statement of the district’s reason for being, describes that purpose as “developing each student’s full potential, now and as future members of community and society, both locally and globally.” The previous session also identified a half-dozen core values for the district in the areas of comprehensive education, stewardship, innovation, school environment, citizenship, and excellence in teaching.
Planning facilitator Andy Sever of the Montana School Boards Association (MTSBA), emphasized that the plan was still very much in the draft phase. However, Noyes said, the goals and values align with the direction of previous strategic planning efforts.
“This is good because it means we are still headed in the right direction,” Noyes said. “When we get into the third and final meeting, we should start to see some more intricate, detailed goals and set some benchmarks to work on as the district operates on a daily basis.”
Working in groups of three to five, attendees spent much of the meeting discussing elements of what that teaching and learning would look like in 10-15 years as they formulated what Sever described as their “big, audacious goal”. Questions about what Townsend’s school district could become the best in the world at, the nature of the school’s student population, and ways the district and community could leverage each other to the greatest advantage centered the discussions.
With those thoughts top of mind, the group came to agreement on an initial goal statement: “Townsend Schools will provide innovative, transformative educational programming that is individually based in order to meet the academic and social/emotional needs of all students. Adaptable, high-quality instruction and educational opportunities will be utilized to meet student needs. The education will include off-site experiential learning, virtual learning, work-based learning and other learning opportunities.”
With the big ideas captured, the yet-to-be-scheduled final session will focus on identifying trends and potential barriers to achieving that goal, then developing short-term (1-2 year) goals and actionable, measurable steps to moving the district forward. Members of the public are welcome to participate in the upcoming session.
Community participation, which has been lacking in the first two sessions, is vital, Noyes said. “Unfortunately, what gets missed with limited participation is stakeholder buy-in. Strong community support is critical for our rural school district. Strategic Planning is all about reaching out beyond the walls of the school building to capture all aspects of stakeholder input. Those who want to employ our students after graduation. Those that want to see our students be successful as they take on challenges around our state, our country and our world.”
