At its August 12 meeting which also served as a Board retreat, the Montclair Board of Education approved the five-year strategic planning goals for the District. These goal areas are:
Achievement for All (includes staff success)
Community Engagement and Communication
Operations and Systems
Equitable, Safe and Healthy Learning Environment
District administration along with committees of staff and community stakeholders created objectives for each of the four goal areas. New Jersey School Boards Association, which was instrumental in working with the District in this endeavor, presented a final report to the Board at the aforementioned meeting/retreat. The administration was then tasked with aligning action steps to carry out the objectives set by the broader community.
Interim Superintendent Damen Cooper remarked, “At the outset, we outlined our primary focus areas and set measurable goals. Now that the district is charged with accomplishing these goals to positively impact student achievement, we developed action steps which could evolve over the next five years as we continually refocus and reevaluate our progress. I couldn’t be happier than to have this roadmap, which was developed collectively with community stakeholders, to not only hold us accountable for our actions but to provide a way to monitor our progress in a comprehensive way.”
Board President Melanie Deysher praised the District leadership, teachers and stakeholders for their tireless work on creating a plan which will set the stage for the next five years, and she said, “its outcomes will be instrumental in guiding the District in future strategic planning efforts. District administration along with faculty and staff will be focused on action steps that are meaningful, measurable and research- and data-driven so that we can raise student achievement.”
The District has already begun to work on the action steps, which Interim Superintendent Cooper called, “a living and breathing document, to guide us on our journey.” Directors will be addressing this in detail during the August Administrative Retreat later this month. For example, action steps consist of outlining the major activities, resources needed, staff responsible, the outcomes expected and indicators of success/impact.
This strategic planning process began in mid-November when Board members, school administrators, staff, students, parents, and community members came together to focus on the strengths and challenges/opportunities of the District as it stands now. This work continued as the stakeholders developed visionary ideas for the District’s success in the next five years. Goal statements with objectives for each area were brought to Board committees keeping everyone in the loop before finalizing.
To read more about the Strategic Plan, please visit the
website. The action steps and documents from the August 12 Board meeting are posted.