Haddonfield School District’s Strategic Planning Commission to solicit academic opinion of residents until end of January
Online surveys sent throughout borough to assess future educational goals
As the Haddonfield School District moves forward in its strategic planning process and works to develop goals that will guide student achievement and organizational success in the next three to five years, it will be soliciting opinions and suggestions from across the borough.
The Strategic Planning Commission is led by former Princeton Public Schools Superintendent Judy Wilson, and it seeks to canvass the community to find out what Haddonfield’s wishes are so it can move forward academically.
“During the 2017–18 school year, the board of education recognized the need for the school community to engage in a strategic planning process. The board set the foundation for that process to unfold after the district’s new superintendent had a few months to observe students, faculty and support staff in action and to begin to align administrative staff for systemic leadership,” Wilson said.
“As (Superintendent) Dr. (Larry) Mussoline was immersing himself in Haddonfield’s schools, I was starting to gather ideas, opinions and recommendations that will ‘fuel’ the thinking of participants in the strategic goal setting process. In the fall of 2018, I had the opportunity to meet individually with board members and administrators and also to meet in small groups with PTA leaders, faculty, union leaders and high school students. In October, I facilitated an open forum for parents and community members.”
According to Wilson, approximately a dozen versions of electronic surveys are open for all parents, students in grades four to 12, faculty, support staff and community members without children currently in the schools. Survey questions cover topics such as use of technology, quality of homework, social and emotional learning, rigor, safety and security and academic preparation. All surveys also have open-ended questions asking respondents to identify specific goal areas they believe would have a positive, high-level impact for students.
Parents and staff received an e-mail on Monday, Jan. 7, with a link to their survey. The link for “the community” (residents currently with no children in the public schools) is located at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WD2WCZ3.
Borough residents are encouraged to respond to these survey questions by Thursday, Jan. 31. Responses are anonymous and participation in this process is greatly appreciated, officials said.
In early February, a core group of highly invested teachers, parents, students, administrators and board members will meet with Wilson for two days. They will analyze student achievement data from recent years, review survey results and discuss critical areas of growth for the district over that three- to five-year time period. Strategic goals will be developed and action plans will follow.
Based on that information, the district’s new chief academic officer, Colleen Murray, will be tasked to implement what the community seeks. During an interview with The Sun in early November, just after she was hired by the district, Murray was confident public input will line up with what both she and Mussoline want — which is for the district’s more than 2,500 students to be prepared for the future.
“The board has chosen an inclusive, multi-faceted process and is eager to endorse specific, high-leverage goals that will guide critical work for students in a focused and meaningful way,” Wilson added.
