District 30 looks ahead

District 30 officials want to create a vision for the future and parents will have a chance to give their input in an upcoming series of roundtable discussions.

The district’s strategic plan will be drafted by the Future Forward committee, comprised of administrators, teachers, parents and community members. The plan will then go to the Board of Education for adoption.

But before this plan is created, the committee’s volunteer members want to learn the needs and wants of the District 30 community. Last spring, more than 300 surveys were returned asking parents and other district residents to evaluate a variety of areas including academic and extra-curricular programs, technology, facilities and communication. “It was a fairly extensive survey asking for input on a lot of different topics,” Superintendent Dr. Elaine Kanas said.

The district’s consulting firm, Lead Schools, compiled the information for the committee to evaluate. A second survey as created, focusing on areas where people felt the district either wasn’t strong, or they just didn’t know much about. English Language Arts, math and communication with parents were areas where the community already felt the district was doing well.

The second survey was completed by parents at the school open houses last week and is available online at www.valleystream30. com for others who want to participate.

Part of the process in creating a strategic plan will be to identify what a 21st Century school district is, and is Valley Stream District 30 one of those. Kanas said she wants to know if the district’s programs are challenging enough or not to meet the learning needs of students in the 21st Century.

Ultimately, the strategic plan will look at least five years into the future. Essentially, Kanas said, the plan will identify where the district needs to be in five years and serve as a “road map” for how to get there.

The plan could include changes to current programs, as well as new initiatives that people who like to see. As for any major changes to a content area, Kanas said curriculum development committees would work to implement the goals set forth in the strategic plan.

Any changes or new programs would have budget implications, which is why some ideas might need to be phased in over a five-year or more period.

The Future Forward committee will have a meeting each month through December to put together a strategic plan draft. Kanas said her hope is to present it and have it approved at the December board meeting. “That will be enough time to help in the budget planning for 2010-11,” she said.

There will be four roundtable discussions with the public this month. The meetings are Tuesday, Oct. 6 at 9 a.m. at the Forest Road School; Tuesday, Oct. 6 at 3:15 p.m. at the Shaw Avenue School; Tuesday, Oct. 6 at 7:30 p.m. at the Shaw Avenue School; and Saturday, Oct. 17 at 9 a.m. at the Clear Stream Avenue School.

Kanas said she selected a variety of times to try and give everyone a chance to attend. “We do our best to reach out to everyone,” she said. “We really want their feedback.”