Strategic Plan coming into focus
The Rocky View Schools (RVS) Board of Trustees was given an opportunity to look over the public feedback the public school division received from students, parents/guardians, staff and the community at large about its proposed 2023-2026 Strategic Plan during the Oct. 20 meeting.
According to RVS staff, the survey sent out in May of this year received 27,900 responses.
The survey suggested RVS students identified four major areas students wanted addressed in the Strategic Plan, including a desire to learn; have fun and succeed in their studies; a focus on maintaining a positive and supportive relationship with teachers to ensure that success; better preparation for life after Grade 12; and aspirations to improve in math.
The survey suggested parents and guardians who answered the survey questions would also like to see a strong focus on numeracy, but also literacy and social media and digital awareness. Parents and guardians also want RVS to make strong efforts in maintaining a caring and supportive environment for all students and a stronger focus on preparing students for success in both their studies and post-graduation lives.
The main concerns identified by RVS in the survey were having greater supports for students’ physical, social, mental and intellectual development, and having additional classroom supports in place for students with complex needs – particularly students who have been negatively impacted by the pandemic.
Staff who responded also asked for an enhanced focus on foundational skills in the classroom such as numeracy, literacy, and writing and more hands-on learning and skills training programs to give students experiential learning to prepare students for life after Grade 12. Staff also wanted increased supports to improve student and staff wellness and contribute to an overall positive environment.
Based on these responses, RVS staff created a first draft for the Strategic Plan, which was completed and sent out in early October. According to RVS staff, they have received 1,430 responses to the proposed plan. They added they will look over this feedback in comprehensive detail and bring back a further refined draft to trustees in December.
To view the survey response summary and see the draft 2023-2026 Strategic Plan visit bit.ly/3Naqlsu
New messaging system set up for parents
Also at the Oct. 20 meeting, trustees were briefed on a newly-implemented internal text messaging system that would allow parents and guardians to receive timely information through group messages from RVS about matters of collective concern.
The service, implemented on Oct. 11, is subscription-based and voluntary, and is meant to be supplemental to the information parents and guardians already receive through email or Rocky View Schools’ websites.
The service, which is tied to the SchoolMessenger program, allows information to be sent out to families to share local school news as well as division news. It will not be used to communicate private information about individual students, RVS stressed.
