INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Community members, parents, teachers, students and faith leaders are invited to participate in a town hall next week to hear from school district officials about the implementation of a five-year strategic plan. School district representatives held 15 focus group sessions this year to hear from the community about changes they wish to see made in public schools.
“Our district’s success is driven by innovation and an unwavering commitment to excellence in education. As we develop our 2025-2030 strategic plan, we need the voices of our community to help shape the future of learning in Indian River County,” said Cristen Maddux, spokesperson for the School District of Indian River County. “I encourage all community members to attend next week’s town hall to ask questions and be part of this important conversation. Together, we can continue to push the boundaries of educational excellence and create opportunities that empower every student to thrive.”
Schools Superintendent Dr. David K. Moore, along with Chief of Staff Dr. Christina Jacobs, will host the town hall from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. on March 13 at the School District headquarters, 6500 57th Street in Vero Beach. The town hall is an effort to build transparency and community engagement, school officials said.
“The town hall is open to the entire community. We will have a summary report (of the focus group sessions),” said Dr. Jennifer Beagan, coordinator of strategic support services for the School District of Indian River County. “(The town hall) will take into consideration everything that happened in the first ACHIEVE 2025 District Strategic Plan (2020-2025.)”
School District officials will discuss feedback from the focus groups, provide an update on the progress of the 2025-2030 strategic plan and also outline the strategic plan timeline. Personnel from the school district will use the data collected from the focus groups to develop focus areas for the 2025-2030 strategic plan.
The town hall aims to gather stakeholder feedback to refine priorities, highlight key themes including instructional excellence and innovation, and reinforce the district’s mission in “transforming education to inspire and empower all students to maximize their full potential,” school officials said.
The next focus group session, which is for School District leaders, will be held from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. on March 14 at the School District headquarters. Previous focus group sessions were held at various locations throughout the county and concentrated on feedback from students, teachers, School District support staff, community members, faith-based leaders, principals and assistant principals.
“The goal is to have intimate conversations so we can learn,” Beagan said. “Nearly 250 people have participated in the focus groups so far. The focus groups are for us to gather different perspectives from the community.”
Focus areas for the current strategic plan include academic success; safety, culture and climate; communication and engagement; talent development and support; and organizational and fiscal responsibility. Some guiding principles for the plan include investing in collaborative cultures, providing high-quality instruction, engaging in innovative practices, communicating with transparency and integrity with all stakeholders and empowering problem solvers at every level of the organization.
More information on the current 2020-2025 strategic plan can be found on the School District’s website.
