Early voting has kicked off in Memphis, and 5 of the 9 seats on Memphis-Shelby County Colleges board are on the poll within the Aug. 1 election. Twenty candidates are vying for board seats in Districts 2, 3, 4, 5, and seven.
Marie Feagins, the brand new Memphis superintendent, formally began main Tennessee’s largest college district in April. As a result of one of many board’s most important tasks is to rent, handle, and consider the district’s high chief, Feagins’ actions are particularly related this election cycle.
As the college board awaits Feagins’ first strategic plan for the district, candidates to serve on the board have completely different definitions of what a profitable blueprint would appear to be.
We requested candidates: Feagins expects to have a brand new district strategic plan in place by September 2024. Describe a profitable strategic plan, and the way you’d use the plan to judge the district’s progress and price range suggestions as a board member.
Their responses are under. Chalkbeat flippantly edited and condensed the candidates’ bios for readability, however not their responses, aside from adjusting the formatting to enhance readability. (Alvin Criminal for District 4 and Chavez Donelson for District 7 didn’t reply to our voter information questions). Discover candidate responses on extra subjects — like power absenteeism and struggling college buildings — in our in-depth voter information for the Memphis-Shelby County college board race.
I look ahead to reviewing Supt. Feagins strategic plan for the district. I consider any robust strategic plan ought to have a transparent educational technique for development with a price range that’s aligned for tutorial development.
A profitable strategic plan requires efficient strategic planning. Efficient strategic planning consists of taking the time to find out the objectives crucial to succeed in our acknowledged imaginative and prescient and mission, whereas staying true to our core values (which we should decide). Given our district’s imaginative and prescient and mission, the Board, Superintendent, and all stakeholders would wish to speculate the time to set our core values that may drive our work in direction of every of our objectives. These objectives ought to embody educational proficiency and preparedness, efficient and environment friendly enterprise operations, strategic infrastructure funding (amenities, lecturers and workers), security, strategic programs alignment, and monetary sustainability. We should then clearly perceive our district’s capability, be open and sincere, embody all related stakeholders to supply enter and suggestions, prioritize, and supply an implementation plan that features the actions/applications/techniques to fulfill the acknowledged objectives, anticipated outcomes and influence, SWOT evaluation (strengths, weaknesses, alternatives and threats), set metrics, benchmarks, a timeline, and value projections. Clear expectations, processes, metrics, and analysis present us with information to tell how we allocate district assets and tackle challenges. As one among 9 Board members, it’s our collective accountability to carry the superintendent accountable for implementing, with constancy and demonstrated progress, the strategic plan; develop, approve and monitor a price range aligned to the district’s strategic plan; via coverage, set, observe, and maintain ourselves, and others, accountable to the parameters for governance and the strategic plan; and advocate for native, state and federal insurance policies and sustainable assets to efficiently implement the strategic plan.
A profitable strategic plan could be the blueprint or schematic. It ought to embody a tutorial, security and safety, truthful compensation, facility upkeep, constituent inclusion, and efficient educator deployment elements. The way in which I might use the plan to judge the district’s progress and price range suggestions boils all the way down to a easy matrix. I might ask the 2 particular questions. Did you observe your blueprint to the letter? Have been you capable of obtain your plan inside the allotted price range? The reply to those questions would inform my opinion of success or failure.
Supt. Feagins has not shared a plan with the college board but. A profitable plan will likely be one which addresses development in teachers and methods round acquiring further funding assets that we’d like for our faculty district.
A profitable strategic plan ought to have a mission, imaginative and prescient, core, and objectives.
The mission and imaginative and prescient should be clear, concise, and attainable. It needs to be one which your entire board, directors, lecturers, workers, college students, and neighborhood can actually purchase into.
The objectives ought to concentrate on –
- Upkeep & Upgrades of Amenities
- Employees Recruitment & Retention – Scholar Readiness & Holistic Nicely Being
- Neighborhood Engagement & Partnerships
I consider in Dr. Feagin and can totally assist her.
A profitable strategic plan is one which has scoped out and assessed the wants of the goal inhabitants and put a plan in place to deal with the wants. A profitable strategic plan reveals effectively thought via strengths and capacities to fulfill the wants and has recognized the boundaries that present alternatives to companion for the success of the mission and objectives. Our superintendent is spot on along with her plan from what I’ve seen. I belief it. I’m able to lock in, partnering along with her and holding her accountable for the observe via.
From my expertise, the superintendent strategic plan ought to align first with the objectives that the Board has set for the district. Secondly, the plan ought to present a transparent snapshots of the district present standing associated to these set objectives with outcomes with a minimal of a 3 yr pattern information. Lastly, the superintendent will prioritize objectives that she is going to tackle within the first three years that may embody the who will do it, what it is going to appear to be, when it is going to be carried out, how it is going to be carried out, and what value, and there needs to be an aggressive timeline to exhibit the urgency of the plan. Lastly, it ought to present clear communication on how every division, division and college strategic will likely be related to the district’s plan. Additionally, if there are price range considerations, the plan should present what you’ll cease doing, how or if what you cease will influence the district and the way the funds will likely be redirected to cowl the brand new initiatives value. This construction of a strategic plan will guarantee alignment of the Board’s objectives, confirmed clear information pushed image, prioritized, well timed, and financially accountable. As a board, the power to forecast from the plan ought to result in making a price range choice to maneuver ahead as is or with suggestions to think about.
A profitable strategic plan for MSCS will clearly talk the priorities and objectives of the district and element how the district plans to realize them inside a set timeframe. It needs to be a guiding doc for the college and bigger Memphis neighborhood about how the district can reply to essential wants whereas all the time prioritizing constructive advantages for our college students. As soon as adopted, the board (and subsequently public) ought to obtain quarterly updates on the district’s progress to evaluate which insurance policies and applications are serving to us attain our supposed outcomes. Equally, price range issues should even be weighed on how they additional the district’s capacity to fulfill our acknowledged priorities and objectives within the strategic plan.
A profitable strategic plan for the district would prioritize security, educational excellence, psychological well being, and neighborhood engagement. In gentle of recent legal guidelines comparable to weapons in lecture rooms and the correlation between third-grade studying ranges and jail mattress projections, the plan should embody sturdy security protocols and focused literacy applications. Scholar suggestions could be integral to the planning course of, making certain the plan displays their wants and experiences.
As a board member, I might use the strategic plan to judge progress via common assessments and quarterly critiques in every division, together with sanitation and security. Guaranteeing a safe and clear studying atmosphere is foundational to scholar well-being and educational success. The plan also needs to embody psychological well being assist, increasing the variety of counselors and assets to deal with college students’ emotional wants.
Parental involvement is one other essential element. I might advocate for applications that educate and empower mother and father to assist their youngsters’s studying at dwelling, reinforcing the connection between college and residential environments. Wholesome meals applications should be a part of the plan, making certain college students have entry to nutritious meals that gas their educational efficiency.
By setting clear objectives and metrics, the strategic plan will information price range suggestions, making certain assets are allotted successfully to fulfill these priorities. Quarterly critiques will likely be important to make sure that every division is assembly its objectives and addressing any rising points promptly. This complete strategy will assist create a thriving academic atmosphere the place each scholar can succeed. Common evaluations and changes based mostly on information and suggestions will hold the district on observe, making certain we aren’t failing our college students.
A profitable strategic plan would concentrate on the next strategic framework as outlined by the Chief Counsel of State Faculty Officers (CCSSO) as it’s applied within the MSCS neighborhood:
- Response & restoration
- Fairness, entry & essential infrastructure
- Modernizing the training system
These requirements tackle most of the points that plague college districts right now, together with literacy, digital entry, and up to date evaluation fashions. Each choice and greenback needs to be accountable to the individuals of this nice neighborhood.
Any group or company that owns amenities ought to have an everyday evaluation and a plan to make choices about these buildings (we’ve about 200 amenities). Is that this in one of the best curiosity of scholars? Is the power enough, protected, and efficient? Can we correctly maintain it? A profitable plan will embody a constructing evaluation of its situation and restore wants. The plan will even take a look at the under-over scholar capability of the college, the courses and actions supplied, and our capacity to adequately workers lecturers. Parental and scholar enter is one other consideration; nonetheless, I’ll make choices based mostly on the info and in one of the best curiosity of present college students.
A profitable strategic plan for the district ought to embody clear, measurable objectives, evidence-based methods, and an in depth implementation timeline. It ought to prioritize educational achievement, fairness, neighborhood engagement, and the well-being of scholars and workers. Key elements of this plan ought to embody:
Particular targets for enhancing literacy and numeracy, commencement, and faculty and profession readiness.
Initiatives to shut achievement gaps, present assets for underserved communities, and promote inclusive practices.
Methods to reinforce communication with mother and father, college students, and neighborhood companions, making certain their enter shapes decision-making.
Packages to assist psychological well being, scale back bullying, and guarantee protected, supportive studying environments.
Plans for environment friendly use of monetary and human assets to assist academic objectives. As a member, I might use the strategic plan to set benchmarks and consider progress by repeatedly reviewing efficiency metrics tied to every objective. This would come with analyzing information on scholar achievement, fairness indicators, and suggestions from neighborhood surveys. By evaluating these metrics in opposition to the strategic plan’s benchmarks, I may determine areas of success and people needing enchancment. Moreover, implementing a system for routine monitoring of progress experiences to trace efficiency in opposition to the benchmarks. When making price range suggestions, I might be sure that funding priorities align with the strategic plan. As an illustration, if the plan highlights the necessity for extra psychological well being assets, I might advocate for price range allocations to assist this space. Common progress experiences from the superintendent and district workers could be important to keep up transparency and accountability, making certain that the strategic plan drives significant enhancements throughout the district.
As a faculty board member, a profitable strategic plan should be complete, data-driven, and community-focused. My platform facilities on transparency, fairness, and scholar success, which aligns with greatest practices in strategic planning. A profitable strategic plan includes clear objectives, measurable targets, and particular actions that tackle the wants of all college students.
For our district, I envision a strategic plan with three key pillars: educational excellence, neighborhood engagement, and useful resource optimization. Tutorial excellence focuses on enhancing curriculum, investing in instructor growth, and supporting various studying wants. Neighborhood engagement ensures that folks, college students, and native stakeholders have a voice in decision-making processes. Useful resource optimization goals at maximizing price range effectivity, investing in important applications, and making certain equitable useful resource distribution.
To guage the district’s progress, I might use a steady enchancment mannequin. This includes setting particular, measurable, achievable, related, and time-bound (SMART) objectives and repeatedly reviewing efficiency information. For instance, we’d set a objective to enhance studying proficiency by 10% over two years. Common assessments and information evaluation would assist us observe progress, determine areas needing consideration, and alter methods accordingly.
Finances suggestions could be carefully tied to our strategic objectives. As an illustration, if information reveals that studying intervention applications are extremely efficient, we might prioritize funding for these initiatives. Common price range critiques and neighborhood suggestions periods would guarantee transparency and accountability.
By aligning our strategic plan with price range choices and repeatedly evaluating our progress, we are able to create a dynamic and responsive academic atmosphere that fosters scholar success and neighborhood belief.
When elected that is how I envision Superintendent Feagins new district plan. First the plan ought to have measurable objectives and targets to focus on. Concentrate on increasing entry to early childhood training, further assist companies for college kids, and strengthening partnerships with neighborhood stakeholders. I might use the plan to judge the district price range by the priorities outlined within the plan. Lastly, the plan might should be adjusted or tailored over time in response to the wants of the district. With Superintendent Feagins and administration I’ll revisit the plan periodically and make crucial revisions.
na
A plan of action that outlines the steps wanted to realize a selected objective. This plan needs to be clear, measurable, purpose-driven objectives, and full workforce working collectively to collaborate on a plan and price range. This plan and price range needs to be constant and doable for all concerned. I can’t provide you with a exact plan till I get in workplace, communicate with the Superintendent and the guy college board members as a way to give you a direct, proficient, profitable acceptable plan.
A profitable strategic plan will clearly talk the District’s priorities and objectives. Key priorities I wish to see within the strategic plan are strengthing household and neighborhood engagement, enhancing educational success, and enhancing our public college amenities. A profitable strategic plan will embody particular, measurable, achievable, lifelike, and time based mostly objectives that I might use as a Board member to judge the District’s progress and make price range suggestions based mostly on the info collected on every strategic plan benchmark.
