Thinking ahead

The West Hempstead school district convened its first meeting of the Strategic Planning Council for the 2014-17 term on March 19 in the West Hempstead Middle School cafeteria, at which 20 community members came to formulate the district’s third action plan with respect to changing socioeconomical and educational needs.

The council — consisting of four subgroups in academic excellence for all, educational technology, continuous improvement using data and community relations — holds occasional meetings twice a year for each three-year term to devise a set of strategies, timelines and criteria that will determine if its action plan proves successful in the district.

In previous terms, West Hempstead’s Strategic Planning Council has successfully reached its goals of installing interactive white boards in every classroom with funding from state grants and improving students’ vocabulary from kindergarten to 12th grade to foster better SAT scores.

“[The Strategic Planning Council] keeps us focused during budget time and it’s helped us keep our vision on what is important for the education of students in West Hempstead,” said Deputy Superintendent Richard Cunningham. “We’re hoping the strategic planning effort that we started more than 6 years ago helps the district continue to move forward in meeting our educational goals.”

For the 2014-17 term, Cunningham said the some of the council’s subgroups expect to address the Common Core curriculum in the new action plan.

The council’s next sessions will be held on April 23 and May 8 at 7:30 p.m. in the West Hempstead Middle School cafeteria.