Last week’s BOE meeting saw the district review the status of the district’s three-year strategic plan and honor various staff members
Mt. Laurel’s local school district is moving closer to completing the strategic plan that will serve as a guide for district officials in the next three years.
Mt. Laurel Schools Superintendent George Rafferty gave members of the public an update on the plan at last week’s Board of Education meeting, where he reviewed the three writing sessions for the plan that took place throughout April and May.
Rafferty said about 24 district staff members, administrators, parents, teachers and other members of community joined together to write the first draft of the three-year strategic plan by using data gathered from the district’s previous community planning sessions.
Those sessions, which took place across three nights in November and December, were attended by hundreds of Mt. Laurel stakeholders.
The majority of suggestions from those meetings fell under topics related to the district’s curriculum and instruction, general education students and special needs students, teachers and staff, community and families, facilities and full-day kindergarten.
“This initiative has been an opportunity for us to really engage with the community and get input from all our stakeholders about the kinds of things they value here in Mt. Laurel’s schools, the kinds of things they’d like to see us work on in the future and an opportunity for us to get some feedback on some ideas they have on how we might be able to achieve those goals,” Rafferty said.
With a draft plan now in place, Rafferty said district officials would refine the plan slightly before presenting it for BOE approval at the board’s June 13 meeting.
If approved by the board, the plan would take effect on July 1.
“One of the most reaffirming things that came out of this for me, being superintendent here for just over two years, is that a lot of the initiatives and plans that we have in place are really in line with what our community values and where they’d like to see the school district go,” Rafferty said.
In other news:
The BOE also presented small gifts and awards of recognition to the district’s 2017–2018 retirees:
· Sally Bush, Hartford School classroom aide, 17 years in district
· Deborah Cantwell, Fleetwood Elementary School secretary, 24 years in district
· Karen Cronin, Fleetwood classroom aide, 21 years in district
· Angel Feliciano, Harrington Middle School custodian, 10 years in district
· Deborah Flamini, Hartford secretary, 20 years in district
· Virginia Gerbino, Hartford classroom aide, 29 years in district
· Nancy Hicks, district comptroller, eight years in district
· Marian Jones, Larchmont Elementary music teacher, 28 years in district
· Maria Kelly, Parkway Elementary School basic skills math teacher, 32 years in district
· Donna Kinn, Parkway principal, 26 years in district
· Nancy LeClare, Hartford custodian, 18 years in district
· Timothy Moore, Larchmont custodian, nine years in district
· Joan Penrose, Hartford teacher, 29 years in district
· Joyce Renner, school bus driver, 15 years in district
· Karen Saybolt, Fleetwood special education teacher, 26 years in district
· Cynthia Tedesco, Hartford general/vocal music teacher, 28 years in district
· Linda Welsh, district accounts payable specialist, 14 years in district
The BOE also presented small gifts and awards of recognition to the following staff members celebrating their 25-year anniversary with Mt. Laurel Schools:
· Linda Carey, school bus driver
· Cindy Disler, Springville Elementary School teacher
· Donna Kinn, Parkway principal
· Dawn Yushchak, Countryside Elementary School teacher
