The Montclair Board of Education (Board) and Superintendent Jonathan Ponds announced the District’s Strategic Planning process at its Board Meeting on October 16. The District begins this initiative by inviting all community members, staff and students to a series of public forums November 13, November 29 and December 11 at the George Inness Annex Atrium, 141 Park Street, at 6:30 PM. Attendees will participate in conversations to create a shared vision for the future of Montclair Public Schools.
Throughout the process, facilitated by the New Jersey School Boards Association, the District will discuss the strengths and challenges faced today and plans for moving forward to enhance teaching and learning for all students. At the first meeting Ponds will report on the current state of the District. “I look forward to presenting our achievements and working on this collaborative process to provide the foundation for a community-based strategic plan which will identify specific ways to build on our strengths, address our challenges and measure our success moving forward,” said Ponds.
The second meeting on November 29 will once again bring community members together, which includes administrators, educators, parents, students, and community partners, to participate in an interactive session so the District may collect feedback and comments to help define and design a blueprint for the Strategic Plan (Plan). Board Member and Communications Committee Chair Brian Fleischer said, “I am excited about this opportunity for stakeholders to express ideas and opinions that will provide the Board with significant insight into how the community would like the school system to evolve. We don't ever want to do such important work that will impact our students' experiences, opportunities and educational outcomes in a vacuum. I am hoping that a broad and diverse cross-section of our stakeholders will engage with us in this collaborative process."
During the third meeting on December 11, the actual goals, strategies and objectives of the Plan will be written and presented to the Board at an upcoming Board meeting. "It is so important to us to work with the public and our stakeholders to develop a clearly defined vision for the future of our schools,” said Board President Allison Silverstein. “I am excited to have everyone engaged together to develop a plan designed to most effectively benefit our students and their growth. I look forward to watching these plans unfold to improve the lives of our students and staff over the course of the coming years.”
Register to attend these Strategic Planning forums.
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