for Meridian

KIRA COX - THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

LAUREL - The Meridian School District is looking for input from parents, students, staff and community members on the direction the district should take over the next several years...continued

Invitation to the Meridian Parents, Students and Community Members

The Meridian School District will be undertaking the task of creating a new strategic plan to guide the district forward over the next several years. The Meridian School Board and I wish to extend an invitation to each parent, student and community member to partake in one or both of the "community, parent, student and staff" meetings to offer your thoughts and observations as we gather input to help shape the plan.

The dates for the two "community, parent, student and staff" meetings are:

• Wednesday October 7, 2009 at 6:00 PM at the IRPS Cafeteria
• Wednesday October 14, 2009 at 6:00 PM in the MHS Commons

The process will be very similar in both meetings and each will be facilitated by Buck Evans of the Northwest Educational Service District. Information obtained from the two meetings will be compiled by a steering committee consisting representatives of classified employees, certificated employees, parents, community members, students, a board member, school and district administrators. The committee will provide a draft for review and further comment prior to the final draft being produced and sent to the school board for approval in mid-November.

The past strategic plan developed in 2001 provided a direction for the district to follow. Many of the identified areas of need have been addressed or are in the process of being addressed. It is the intention of the school board to use the plan developed with your input to guide the district for the foreseeable future. Your voice is both welcome and encouraged!

Again, please consider attending one or both of the meetings and adding your experience and voice to the process. Meridian is a great place... and by planning with intention and building upon the efforts made in the past, we can continue to improve.

OUR STRATEGIC PLAN

Planning is an important responsibility for every organization in order to focus resources and efforts in the most effective ways. Strategic planning has become a fairly common approach for school districts as well as many other businesses and organizations. A strategic plan generally includes four components: vision, mission, beliefs and goals.

During the 2001-2002 school year, a committee of parents, students, community members, and district employees developed the current District Strategic Plan (click here to view the plan). Goals were established in five key areas: Academic, Community, Facilities, Administrative and Staff. Three or four specific strategies were developed under each of these main headings. The ongoing work of implementing these goals has been at the center of district efforts during the past four year. Progress reports have been regularly presented to the School Board, and the committee has reconvened annually to review the plan and its implementation.

It is now time to revisit the Strategic Plan to update it and set priorities for the next five years. If you have a particular interest in working on a committee to complete this important process, please contact the District Office at 398-7111 or e-mail your response to Lilly Megard (lmegard@meridian.wednet.edu).

I would like to thank all the individuals who worked to help develop the current Strategic Plan. Members of the Strategic Plan Committee included the following: Adele Pears, Don Jorgensen, Kim Fast, Brian Evans, Lynne Jermunson, Bill Giller, Carole Evans, Connie Bennum, Jack Johnson, Nancy Slesk, Gil Holt, Mike Rommel, Jeannie Fitzsimmons, Jane Colson, Claudia Hollod, Jeff Michaelson, Ryan Brown, Charlie Crabtree, Leah Belisle, Rob Olson, Sheri Folsom, Mary Mattison, Valerie Grube, Mark Van Dyke, Lois Bellingham, Judy Hossner, Steve Burton, Ronda Laughlin, Jerry Sanderson, Mike Marshall, Linda Twitchell, Judy Boxx, Jeanne Saucer, and Diana Harrison.