Future Search Symposium was a “standout event”
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The strategic planning symposium held March 15-17 impressed Tom Koenninger enough to write a newspaper column about it. Koenninger is chairman of Vancouver School District’s Management Task Force, a longstanding district advisory group. He also is editor emeritus of The Columbian. In his column, Koenninger reflected on table discussions during the symposium where approximately 120 district staff and community members brainstormed ideas and suggested pathways to a better education. He called the symposium “a standout event, a model for any organization proactively facing its future.”
Kathy Gillespie, an Eleanor Roosevelt Elementary School parent who participated in the symposium, also wrote an opinion piece for the newspaper. She noted that symposium attendees included a diverse group of business and community leaders, parents, students, educators, school board members, and district staff members whose thoughts and contributions were stimulated by keynote presenters Ian Jukes, a noted technology futurist, and Dr. Robert Sylwester, an expert in cognitive neuroscience. “There is no other place I would have rather been,” she wrote. “These ideas, data and directions will bring profound change.”
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[full story]
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Focus groups will ensure that all voices are heard 
In April and May, seven focus groups will be convened to gather input from specific audiences and to give them a voice in the strategic planning process. Invited groups include current students, recent graduates, district employees, parents, parents of English Language Learners and Special Education students, community and business leaders, and representatives of early childhood and higher education.
“With the focus groups, we are intentionally extending personal invitations. We want to make sure we are providing enough breadth and depth of perspective,” said Deputy Superintendent Steve Webb.
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[full story]
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April 22 is the last day to take the strategic planning survey
All district staff and community members are encouraged to participate in the strategic planning survey. Translated versions in Russian and Spanish are posted online. Printed copies are available in school offices and library branches for those who do not have Internet access. The survey will be taken off-line after Sunday, April 22.
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