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Ralph
C. Mahar Regional School District Strategic Plan
A
Vision to Build A Better Mahar
2006-
2009
Voted
By the School Committee on June 9, 2006
“Strategic Planning is a process for creating an
organization’s preferred future. It is a planning
process for organizational renewal and
transformation that provides a framework for
improving programs, management functions, and
evaluation of an organization’s progress. Strategic
planning helps organizations think and act
strategically, develop effective strategies, clarify
future directions, establish priorities, improve
organizational performance, build teamwork and
expertise, and deal effectively with a rapidly
changing environment.” Teachers 21
ENVIRONMENTAL
SCANNING
External Scan - the identification of
external trends and changing conditions over which
the school district has little control. However,
these trends and changing conditions may have a
direct impact on the district and pose opportunities
and threats.
• Social Trends:
- Changing dynamics of family structure
- More single parent families
- Latch key kids
- More demand for day care and after school programs
- Emotional stress on children
- Increase in diversity in society
- Violence in society/schools
- Substance abuse in students, family and society
- Impact of terrorism
- Aging population
- Increase focus on health/wellness
- Concern over a potential flu pandemic
- Influence of religion or education
- Shrinking population in Massachusetts
• Political Trends:
- Decrease in funding with higher expectations and
more accountability
- Privatization
- School Choice
- No Child Left Behind Legislation (NCLB)
- English immersion and ELL requirements
- MCAS and other external assessments
- Child nutrition legislation
- Uncertainty surrounding war in Iraq
- Federal and State mandates
- The Petersham question
• Technological Trends:
- Funding commitment needed to maintain and upgrade
technology
- Impact of virtual learning
- Inequalities in student access to technology
- Instant access to vast amounts of information
- On-line opportunities for educational programming
- Advances in medical technology
- Impact of technology on students’ social skills
and personal safety
- World becoming smaller
• Economic Trends:
- Increasing of national debt and trade deficits
- Expectations to do more with the same or less
- Increase in poverty
- Impact of the war on terror/Iraq on the economy
- Increase cost of energy
- Rising cost of housing
- Groups/areas needing more government funding
(elderly, health care, etc.)
- Increase cost of health care
- A widening gap between haves and have nots
- Increase demand for public services
- Decrease in employee benefits
- Employment of immigrants and illegal aliens
- Dwindling number of high paying jobs
- The global economy
- Outsourcing of jobs
- Increase cost of special education programs and
services
• Educational Trends:
- Greater accountability
- Increase in expectations for schools from parents
and government
- A decrease in respect for educators
- Increase in higher education costs
- Needs to provide programs for England Language
Learners
- More School Choice options
- Increase in Charter Schools
- Standards based movement
- Shortage of “highly” qualified teachers and
administrators
- Creating partnerships with community
organizations, businesses and foundations
- Community schools
- Competency assessments as a graduation requirement
• Opportunities:
We may be able to:
- Gain support for public education from new
residents
- Outsource our technology to local governments
- Offer our new building and its facilities to more
community groups
- Use our technology to enhance communication with
all stake holder groups
- Off a greater variety of school activities to
address diverse student interests
- Use our “talented” alumni as key resources
- Capitalize on our new building and quality program
offerings to keep Mahar bound students and increase
School Choice enrollment from outside our region
- Make greater use of technology to support teaching
and learning
- Involve an aging population in our school
- Effectively communicate the success of our school
district
- Establish a broader vision for education
- Provide quality professional development to
improve classroom instruction
- Establish partnerships with businesses and other
agencies
- Help students make connections between education
and the real world
• Threats:
We may be challenged by:
- Costs needed to maintain school facilities
- Impact of terrorism and war (fear, security,
costs, etc.)
- Lack of adequate funding (school v. municipal
competitors and unfunded mandates)
- Loss of local control
- Economic cycles
- Demand for more specialized services
- Need to provide updated technological services
- Need to balance needs of an aging population and
school age children
- Static business base in our local communities
- Too much emphasis on MCAS tested subjects that
limits our ability to provide a broader education
- Loss of funding due to privatization
- Demands of MCAS and NCLB
- Apathy in our communities
- Increasing energy and health care costs
- Cost of regular education v. special education
- Demands to replace retiring educators with highly
qualified employees
- Changing family dynamics – substance abuse,
violence, etc.
- Increasing number of students with emotional
and/or behavioral issues
- Number of Mahar bound students opting for School
Choice in other school districts
- The Petersham question
- Influence of religion on public education
- Global political/economic change
Internal Scan – the determination of the
school district’s capacity to deal with changing
external conditions which leads to an analysis of
the district’s current strengths and weaknesses.
• Strengths:
- New school facilities
- Technology – excellent hardware, software and
network
- An online digital curriculum
- Athletic and extra-curricular activities and
events
- A dedicated faculty, staff and administration
- A “generally” good and committed student body
- Talented A.P. Scholars, musicians, artists,
athletes
- The Bridges Induction/Mentoring Program
- Block Scheduling
- Challenging course offerings at the high school
level
- No athletic or late bus fees
- A curriculum that is aligned with the
Massachusetts Frameworks
- Improved Grade 10 MCAS results
- Competency determination for graduates out 100%
- A close-knit staff
• Weaknesses
- Uncertainty and inadequacy of funding due to
reliance on local taxes and the need for more state
and federal funds
- Communication with various stakeholder groups
- Demands from MCAS and NCLB
- Curriculum articulation and coordination from K-8
to 9-12
- Timeline for recruiting and hiring to fill
expected staff vacancies
- The promotion of Mahar Regional School District’s
image
- Block scheduling (lack of flexibility)
- Limited offerings in foreign language
- Ranges of program offerings for non-college bound
students
- Size of custodial staff
- Transition programs from grades 6 and 7 and 8 to 9
- The absence of internal student performance
benchmarks
- A lack of consistency in the industrial mentoring
of new teachers
- Blurred administrative communication and lines of
authority (school/district)
- A drop out rate that needs to decrease
To Strategic Plan
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Dr. Reza Namin
Superintendent of Schools
P. O. Box 680
South Main Street
Orange MA 01364
Superintendent's Office (978) 544-2920
E-Mail:
Dr_Namin@rcmahar.org
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