Together for Tomorrow: our journey to stronger Nordonia schools 

Superintendent’s Corner

by Casey Wright

As we head into the new year, I’m excited to share an important milestone in our district’s journey: we’ve wrapped up the community engagement phase for the Nordonia Schools Strategic Plan. This part of the process was all about teamwork and open conversations, laying a solid foundation for the future of our schools.

Over the past few months, we held focus group sessions that brought together a diverse mix of stakeholders including parents, community members, students, local faith leaders, elected officials, support staff and teachers. Our discussions focused on four key questions:

• What do we do well? 
• What could we improve? 
• What are our hopes and dreams? 
• What challenges do we face now and in the future? 

The insights we gathered painted a clear picture of our district’s strengths, challenges, opportunities and treats, which will guide our next steps.

Key takeaways

Strengths: Participants highlighted the kindness and dedication of our staff as a big plus for our district. They also appreciated our wide range of curricular and extracurricular activities and our effective communication during various situations.

Areas for improvement: Several people pointed out concerns about our aging facilities, especially in the elementary schools. Others, particularly those without direct connections to the district, expressed a wish for better outreach, like easier access to calendars and more acknowledgment of non-sports achievements.

Opportunities: There’s a lot of optimism about new facilities and easing the financial burden on families. Enhancing career-readiness programs and forming partnerships with local businesses were also seen as priorities.

Challenges: Funding issues and concerns about student safety – both physical and mental – are on many minds, as well as the divisive nature of levy campaigns.

The road ahead

With all this feedback, we’re ready to dive into the next phase: analyzing the input, setting priorities and drafting the strategic plan. A writing team made up of administrators, staff and community members will come together to create goals and actionable steps based on these themes. Once we have a draft, we’ll present it to the board of education for approval and roll it out to the community.

This strategic plan is more than just a document; it represents our collective vision for the future of Nordonia Schools. It captures the voices of our students, staff and community, guiding us toward excellence in education and engagement.

A big thank you goes out to everyone who took part in this process! Your insights and commitment to our schools are greatly appreciated. Together, we’ll make sure Nordonia Schools continue to thrive, offering our students the best education possible.Keep an eye out for updates as we get closer to finalizing and implementing the plan. Your thoughts and ideas are always welcome as we move forward on this journey together.