Berkeley Heights Board of Education Adopts New Strategic Plan

Superintendent Judith Rattner presented the district's new Strategic Plan on Thursday night, which includes 11 goals to be completed by June 2013 and 11 goals to be completed by June 2014. 

One of the goals expected to be completed by June 2013 is to increase students achievement by examining “Understanding by Design” as it relates to curriculum development.

Also by June 2013, the board will review the current teacher evaluation system and determine if any changes are needed.

By June 2014, the Board said that it would like to develop a staff-input system that could analyze resources and best meet the needs of the students. A regular feedback mechanism would be a part of the system and that feedback would be shared across schools, Rattner said.

Rattner was excited about the proposed plan but said there could always be roadblocks along the way.

“I’m fairly confident that we will be able to address these things, but I can’t be sure if we are going to hit any roadblocks,” said Rattner. “I think come April or May next year, we need to take a look to see if these need to be moved into the next year (the folowing year) or not.”

Rattner added that “at every board meeting, there will be an update of where we are with each one of those goals.”

Rattner said she wants to make sure that the public is aware of their goals and their current status, and came up with a unique way to make sure the public can stay informed.

“We will set up a Strategic Plan button on the web site that will be updated monthly," Rattner said, "so that everybody can see where we are with the goals.”

The plan was passed unanimously.