mentorpublicschools 2024 0815 - Flipbook - Page 6
Student-Centered,
Workforce-Minded —
Strategic
Plan Update
Superintendent Craig Heath shares how stakeholder
conversations help inform an updated plan to guide the district
E
ngaging students in strategic
planning conversations will
introduce an essential voice as
the district forwards its commitment
to ensuring safety and a balanced,
high-quality education while maximizing district resources and encouraging
strong community partnerships.
Superintendent Craig Heath says the
next cycle of Mentor Schools’ five-year
strategic plan builds off existing goals
and speaks to the current employment
dynamics and workforce demands.
“It’s not just attaining content knowledge, but we want to be sure students
can take that knowledge and apply it in
a real-world setting,” he says.
New to the process — developing the
“Leaner Profile,” which is essentially a
student persona to help guide key focus
areas of the plan.
“Through a series of community
conversations, we will identify traits
and skills and what aptitudes we expect a student who goes through our
educational system in Mentor to gain
by the time they walk across the stage
at graduation, including the value they
can take into post-secondary education, into trades opportunities or right
into the workforce or military,” Heath
says. “We want to prepare them to be
ready and excited for whatever path
they pursue next.”
The district is engaging staff members
and community partners to ensure the
plan reflects a relevant learning environment that develops a strong future
workforce. “We want to make sure business, industry, city government and
residents also have a say in what they
want for our students and our school
system,” Heath adds.
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Community engagement carries over
to every aspect of the plan, including
fiscal responsibility and leveraging resources wisely. “The plan will ensure
that we are a sound fiscal steward of
taxpayer dollars,” Heath acknowledges.
Mentor Schools worked with a third
party facilitation group to help guide
goal setting and action steps in the district’s new Framework for the Future.
“We’re focused on measurable outcomes and demonstrating progress toward each goal,” Heath explains.
A scorecard will demonstrate how
the district is meeting expectations,
and data will indicate when there is
a need to pivot. “This will be a living
document, so we can make tweaks and
achieve the most positive impact possible,” Heath adds.
During the last 20 years, Mentor Public Schools has demonstrated a commitment to thoughtful strategic planning
to drive important decision-making in
the district to best serve the community’s children.
“We have a team of dedicated, caring
educators who continue working hard
to ensure Mentor Public Schools is a
wonderful place for students to learn
and grow,” Heath says.
The updated strategic plan will build
upon that momentum that already
exists. “We will continue to work
around the same key goals while making sure this process is also very student-centered,” Heath says. “We want
to make sure we are providing for students, and to do that, we want to hear
from students.”
We encourage you to follow the QR
code to learn more about the Framework for the Future.
