Let's Talk About Our Schools

Posted on 09/13/2016

Let's Talk About Our Schools

The School District of the Menomonie Area (SDMA) will once again be hosting town hall meetings to review progress and update the action plans for each of the six areas of primary focus included in the school district’s strategic plan. All stakeholders of the school district--families, staff, the community, and the general public--are invited and encouraged to attend.

The SDMA has made great strides in the past several years toward the vision set by the school district stakeholders who have provided valuable input along the way. During the original “Great Conversation”, school district leaders conducted seventeen different listening sessions with over 500 members of the community. This work led to the adoption of a new district strategic plan in the fall of 2012, and work is continuing by task teams delegated for each of the six areas of the plan. An annual review of the plan is conducted each fall, with a summative report provided for the school board in November.

The six strategic areas identified by our community and school district stakeholders include:
● Learning Experience - An emphasis on strengthening curriculum, instruction, assessment, and accountability systems in the district.
● Technology - An emphasis on the integration of technology.
● Facilities - An emphasis on developing a vision and plan for the future of our facilities.
● Personnel - An emphasis on providing highly effective staff.
● Resources - An emphasis on maximizing available resources.
● Community Engagement - An emphasis on enhancing and expanding partnerships and public relations.

What is the next step for continuing the “Great Conversation”?
In the past four years there have been many changes in our schools and community. While the established mission, vision, and core values still guide the progress of our school district, it is important to periodically evaluate the priorities that were established in 2012. In order to identify areas where more work might be needed or areas of the plan that need updating, the following process will be used in the fall of 2016:

1. Facilitators for each of the six identified strategic areas will schedule a town hall style
meeting to further discuss the actions plans in their area. The main items that the meeting will focus on include celebrating what has been accomplished and identifying and prioritizing updated short-term and long-term goals.
2. A modified plan with updated goals and actions based on the feedback from community stakeholders will be developed for school board consideration.

Once the town hall style meetings are concluded, a summative report will be presented to the school board on November 21, 2016, at 5:00 p.m.

Schedule for Town Hall Meetings:
Technology: October 3, 2016 - 5:00 p.m., ASC Board Room
Facilities: September 21, 2016 - 5:00 p.m., ASC Board Room
Learning Experience: September 27, 2016 - 5:00 p.m., ASC Board Room
Community Engagement: October 25, 2016 - 5:30 p.m., ASC Board Room
Resources: October 17, 2016 - 5:00 p.m., ASC Board Room
Personnel: October 13, 2016 - 5:00 p.m., ASC Training Lab

Should school families or stakeholders have any questions about the school district’s strategic plan or anything else in our school district, I invite you visit me at the Administrative Service Center on Pine Avenue, or contact me at 715-232-1642. More information about our schools can be found on the school district website (www.sdmaonline.com), and I regularly post school-related information on Twitter (www.twitter.com/sdmaonline) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/menomonie.schools)