Newark Public Schools, Strong Healthy Communities Initiative, and the Office of Councilman John S. James host the fifth and final strategic planning meeting session in South Ward
South Ward community members discuss their priorities. Mayor Ras Baraka thanks the audience for their engagement.
[Newark, NJ – February 11, 2016] – More than 85 members of the community attended Newark Public Schools’ (NPS) South Ward strategic planning session on Wednesday, hosted by the Strong Healthy Communities Initiative and the Office of Councilman John S. James at Malcolm X Shabazz High School. Wednesday’s meeting was the fifth and final meeting in a series of five strategic planning meetings that the district will be hosting in each ward, and was well attended by community members, leaders and school staff. Mayor Ras Baraka attended the session and shared his thanks to all those who participated. Strong Healthy Communities Initiative helped facilitate several small-‐group discussions in which parents, educators and community leaders were encouraged to share their feedback and insight on the following subjects:
- Curriculum and academic programs
- Student supports
- Education development, effectiveness and retention
- School planning and choice
- Data use, measurement and accountability
- Operations, finance and governance
- Community engagement
The purpose of these meetings is to discuss how the district can best plan for success in the years ahead. At the end of the meeting all attendees were asked to complete an engagement survey which included a comprehensive list of questions that gathered further information and input from the community. This survey is also available online here: http://tinyurl.com/npsstrategicplan. All feedback will be shared at a final meeting on Thursday, February 25 where the district will present a draft plan for consideration before presenting the final plan to the public.
For more information about upcoming community engagement meetings, or any other details related to the Strategic Planning Process please visit: http://www.nps.k12.nj.us/strategic-plan/.