By Megan Alley
Sun staff

Officials from the New Richmond Exempted Village School District are seeking the community’s input on the school district’s 5-year strategic plan and the annual assessment of the board of education.

This is the first year that the school district has put together a strategic plan, according to Superintendent Adam Bird.

“We decided it’s something we wanted to do,” he added.

A 15-member committee, comprised of community members, the school district’s administrative staff, teachers and board members, met several times over the past couple of years to develop the plan.

The board accepted the first reading of the plan during its regular meeting on Sept. 17.

“We would like to make it available for the public to provide comments if there are things they like or don’t like,” Bird said.

The plan, which is effective from 2016 to 2021, lays out the following five goals: “provide all students with equitable access to rigorous curriculum with aligned instructional materials and assessments in all subjects and grade levels”; “recruit, develop, support and retain effective teachers and school leaders; develop an infrastructure to support student success”; “communicate, develop and implement policies that align with the district’s mission, vision and core values”; and “ensure efficient and effective use of financial resources while maintaining high-quality educational experiences for all students.”

Each goal is fleshed out with details that list strategic initiatives, a goal “champion,” action steps, a group who will take responsibility for achieving the goal, expected results and target completion dates.

The deadline for public comments is Oct. 7, after which the committee will reconvene to assess input and make updates to the plan as needed.

“We never really had goals written down; that’s why we’re talking about these plans,” Kristin Bennett, board president, said. “We want to make sure that we’re expressing the goals of the community, because without community input and buy in, we might not have a consensus on where we want to be in five years.”

The plan is slated to go before the board for final approval during its next regular meeting on Oct. 17.

This is also the first year for the annual assessment of the board of education, despite the fact that the board adopted the policy in 2003.

Bennett, who also serves as board liaison to the policy committee, was researching information on agenda policies when she came across the policy text.

“The board is supposed to assess itself annually,” she said.

Bennett has served on the board for four years; this is her first year serving as president.

“I know I’ve never done it before, but it’s in our policies, and we need to be doing it,” she added. “With the district plan being reviewed, we want to get a perspective as to what the community wants because we are here to serve them.”

The online survey-style assessment asks for feedback on topics ranging from board meetings, board relations, educational programs and board member personal qualities.

The form will be available until midnight on Oct. 16, and the board will review all responses at their Oct. 17 meeting.

The 5-year strategic plan, corresponding feedback form and the annual assessment of the board of education are all available on the board’s homepage at http://www.nrschools.org/BoardofEd.aspx. Those who have questions are directed to contact Bennett at bennett_k@nrschools.org.