In the past month, the Columbus Public Schools Board of Education has approved CPS to go into contract with JNW Consultants out of Scottsbluff and Lincoln to help guide our school district in developing our next five year strategic plan.The district is long overdue in developing a new plan.
The past three years have been historical due to the pandemic. There is urgency in getting our practices and procedures back to normal. You may ask yourself the question, does the district really rely on the strategic plan in decisions they make?
The answer is, yes.
Some of the things that were accomplished but not limited to from our last strategic plan include counselors at each elementary school and at each grade level in the middle school and high school, social workers, instructional coaches, Licensed Mental Health Practitioners, Kramer Early Childhood Center, air conditioning in our gymnasiums, STEM Academy, learning goals and proficiency scales, well managed classroom, and new locks on all doors in the district.
It is imperative that we continue to look to the future and continue to make decisions with our families and community leaders within our district.
We also plan on engaging students in our schools as to what our priorities need to be. We will begin this conversation with the consultants on December 15th.
On January 3rd, we will be asking our staff to take part in one of many discussions to brainstorm and think about what CPS looks like in the year 2030. By the same token, we are counting on alumni, parents, and community members to be engaged in this process.
Our school district is a direct reflection of our community while still holding the traditions of past generations and graduating classes. We are a small sample of our greater community with our diversity, poverty, and blue collar work ethic.
The most important thing we can do as a school district is listen.
Our community is who we serve and we need to keep reminding ourselves that we work in their best interest. If you are asked to be part of this discussion please jump at the opportunity to participate and bring another stakeholder of Columbus Public Schools to the table.
I believe we can use the past, present, and future Discoverers to shape the direction of our school district for the future that lies ahead.
Sincerely,
Dr. Loeffelholz