Dear Community Members,
Education in the St. John Valley is facing an ever
increasing rate of change.
Decreasing student demographics,
increased costs of maintaining infrastructure, reduced state funding for
education, an aging population in our communities and a need to balance a
highly effective 21st Century education for learners while being
sensitive to the economic realities of tax payers are but a few of the
challenges and changes facing our schools.
Traditionally, when communities in our region face challenges, they come
together to take action and help each other overcome those challenges.
That spirit of community and collaboration is the primary
reason why MSAD #27, MSAD #33, and the Madawaska School department have come
together to embark on a process of strategic planning for the future. Let me be clear – THIS IS NOT A
CONSOLIDATION PLAN. This is a STRATEGIC
PLAN. A strategic plan provides decision
makers with the tools to make decisions about our schools that are based on the
expectations, values, and priorities of our communities. Could this plan lead to a conclusion that we
should move to consolidate schools? Of
course it could, but it could also lead to MANY other things from increased
collaboration, shared programs, and the list goes on and on. We just don’t know at this point what the
outcome of this plan will be and that’s why this should be a dynamic planning
process.
While I will be facilitating this plan with the help of a
steering committee, please know that there will be numerous, on-going
opportunities for input from everyone in the communities involved. The first part of this process will be to
take the “temperature” of the communities and constituencies involved to see
what people see as most important in regard to education. Don’t expect to come to public meetings ready
to argue for a specific end goal. We
need to see what our communities value and prioritize first. For now, we are doing our research and gaging
public expectations. Meetings will be
structured using a specific planning process and we will be sticking to that
process. We will be asking a lot of
“what if” questions and we will also be challenging ideas that impede
progress.
Let’s face it – if we continue with the status quo we will
either hurt the education our learners are receiving or we will be left with a
bill we cannot pay. Arguments that we
should go back to the educational “basics” of yesteryears are invalid. No, we must move forward and keep our eyes on
the future. Please keep your eye on this
web page to see updates and review meeting minutes. We will also be sending invitations to groups
of stakeholders for planning activities but all of those meetings will be open
to the public and announced on this web page so you can see the process in
action at any time. You will all have
your chance to be heard.
I look forward to working with all of you!
Scott Voisine
Strategic Planning Consultant
Strategic Planning Consultant
