Carson schools look to update vision

The Carson City School District is inviting the public to help refresh its strategic plan, which sets the vision for students, staff and parents.

A series of town-hall-style meetings are planned to review the current Empower Carson City 2017 plan and look for ways to modify and improve on it.

“We want people to look at what we’ve accomplished, partially accomplished or didn’t accomplish at all,” said Richard Stokes, superintendent of the Carson City School District. “Then they can decide what needs to be added, tweaked or deleted. We’re hoping by the end of the first semester to have a draft we can take to the board of trustees.”

The first meeting will be 6-7:30 p.m. Thursday at Carson Middle School. District officials will give an overview of the current strategic plan, which was developed through a series of public meetings beginning in August of 2011.

The five goals of that plan will be presented: Community Partnerships, Engaged Parents, Exceptional Staff, Healthy Generations and Curriculum that Matters.

Participants will choose which category bests suits their area of interest and work together as a group to address that topic.

“We have folks from all areas that are experts in this community,” Stokes said. “We want people to come and provide input.”

Stokes said Empower Carson City 2017, which went into effect in 2012, reflected a collaboration with the community to direct the school district.

“It’s been very helpful,” he said. “It’s given us a road map of where to go and how to make decisions. It’s a critical piece of what we do.”

Subsequent meetings are planned for Sept. 29, Oct. 20 and Nov. 17.

Stokes said participants from the community will decide the direction the new plan will take, but he hopes they will build upon what already exists.

“I believe the goals we developed are pretty universal, and I don’t see any reason to throw them out,” he said. “To have done the work we’ve done then to just start over doesn’t make sense.”

The new plan will be presented to the Carson City School Board during its Dec. 13 meeting and will be presented in 2017 to the joint meeting of the Carson City Supervisors and school trustees.

“We want it to make sense, we want it to be logical,” Stokes said. “We want it to be sustainable.”