Help Manchester Schools Set Plans For The Future

MANCHESTER, NJ — The Manchester Township School District is reminding parents and the community to sign up for the district's strategic planning meeting set for March 16.

Strategic planning meeting is the process where the school board develops goals and strategies to achieve educational success in the district. Community involvement is an important piece of the planning, district officials said.

Registration for the event ends March 9, and is open to all residents of Manchester. Fill out the form online to RSVP. The planning meeting is set for 5:30 p.m. March 16 at Manchester Township High School.

The district has partnered with Tracey Severns of Teach4Results to facilitate the school district’s Strategic Planning Process. Severns will provide an interactive approach to involve everyone in the process to shape the plans for the school district.

Severns is a nationally renowned educator who has been a teacher, principal, superintendent, and was chief academics officer for the NJ Department of Education. She was the leadership and learning strategist for Rutgers School of Education’s Center for Effective School Practices, and host of DisruptED TV.

Severn’s strategic improvement plans use research-based strategies to achieve data-driven goals, the district said.

"The strategic planning process is an opportunity for school and community stakeholders to look forward by identifying the district’s strengths, weaknesses, target issues and then develop and prioritize annual goals that achieve district success," Manchester Superintendent John Berenato said.

"By working together in this way, strategic planning will help the district to forecast and prioritize our district’s specific needs and then develop strategies that support these needs. We hope to have a large turnout and participation from all," Berenato said.

Data collected by Severns at the events will be analyzed and those results will be presented to members of the Board of Education at the June public meeting, and the board and school administration will then develop a comprehensive plan based on the feedback.

"At the end of the strategic planning process, the Manchester Township School District will have a set of strategic goals and priorities that are supported by measurable action plans to move the school district forward," the district said.