Vision 2020: Partnerships, Communication and Student Focus Key to Success

"When our child graduates from the school system, what is it they need to have and do, not only for today but for tomorrow as well? When we look at the job market, what is it that our child will be confronted with? What is our responsibility and what can we do to prepare them?"

These are questions confronting Southington educators everyday and as the town prepares for the future, school leadership on Thursday unveiled their Vision 2020 plan before the Southington Board of Education.

“This is a true paradigm shift from the model as we know it today and is designed to prepare kids for life in the future. (The year) 2020 really isn’t that far away,” said Marisa Calvi-Rogers, a business teacher at Southington High School and member of the Vision 2020 committee. “The strategic plan needs to serve as a guiding principal. We have identified through stakeholders the six priorities that we need to investigate, evaluate and make changes on.”

The long-range plan, designed to revamp and restructure Southington schools by the year 2020, set forth a set of principals and goals necessary to help students succeed well beyond the borders of Southington.

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The district first began efforts to develop the Vision 2020 strategy in 2008 when board members passed a wide-ranging mission statement to have “students engage in a wide range of educational experiences to become informed, adaptive problem solvers who effectively communicate, rise to challenges and are committed to improve themselves and their communities.”

From there, Southington School Superintendent Joseph V. Erardi Jr. said the district reached out to their educational leaders, some of the districts leading teachers, and formed a committee.

The committee then spoke to stakeholders throughout the community including business leaders, parents, teachers, town officials and more to determine what skills students need to succeed and how to provide these skills.

The committee released a six point plan Thursday, stating that strategic plan will require careful planning and evolution in how teachers think, how students think and the interaction between educators and their pupils.

The six-point strategic plan was presented as follows:

1. Learning is the constant; time is the variable.

2. Define and implement curricular change reflecting 21st Century skills for global citizenship.

3. Focus on equitable infrastructure – technology and safety.

4. Develop partnerships that create experiences that extend beyond the typical school day.

5. Implement changing graduation requirements that encourage student involvement and ownership.

6. Constantly build staff capacity through professional development.

Implementing these goals will involve looking at things in a different way and staying on the forefront of education, said Kennedy Middle School math teacher Amy Perry.

“Teach less, learn more,” she said. “We need our teachers to cultivate authentic learning experiences that are uniquely student directed and challenge our students to solve real world problems. We need programs that are rich, meaningful and engaging; that help build character and give room for students to be self-initiated; that create productivity and entrepreneurship. The stakeholders believe this direction Southington need to go.”

One area where the district will need drastic improvement is within technology available to students and how it is used in education, said committee member and Flanders Elementary School fifth-grade teacher Daniel Murdzek.

Murdzek said the district will need to implement Wi-Fi at all school locations, improve existing technology and consider moves such as using E-books in place of the traditional textbooks. He said the district will also need to consider learning at multiple locations and times, such as allowing students to be able to reach out at night, in order to enhance educational opportunities.

Members of the Board of Education were complementary of the plan, but were also cautious in stating that this is only a first step needed to truly address the needs of today’s students.

“The question moving forward is what do you expect from us?” Board Chairman Brian Goralski told members of the committee. “We have a budget document with priorities and we will need to constantly adjust and maintain that. This is just a starting point and you are the experts. We need you to come back and tell us, what’s next?”

What do you believe the most important need is to bring schools forward? Share your thoughts below.

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