The Brunswick School Department’s highest priority is preparing our students for the next step in their journey and doing so in a safe and welcoming environment.
Thanks to the dedication and hard work of our teachers and staff, Brunswick students are engaged, their academic performance is solid and graduation rates are high.
While past success is often an indicator of future performance, we can’t leave it to chance. Providing students with learning opportunities to grow, become critical thinkers, learn to work collaboratively and develop into adults who are prepared for living in a dynamic and innovative society doesn’t happen by magic. Success in public education happens because it’s planned!
Our current five-year strategic plan was officially launched in 2023 after two years of a detailed development process that involved many stakeholders — teachers, staff, students, family and community members. This thoughtful, well-developed plan ensures resources are used responsibly and appropriately to reach measurable, realistic goals across three priority areas:
• Teaching and learning: Our talented educators are second to none in their commitment to helping students grow, learn and develop. Despite their best efforts, not all students achieve at the same rates or to the same levels. To ensure the success of all students, we will use data and evidence-based research to improve student learning, develop purposeful curriculum, and identify and eliminate learning gaps, with a goal of providing increased opportunities and improved outcomes.
• Staff recruitment, retention and development: Our educators and support staff are BSD’s most valuable assets. The department must continue to attract, recruit, hire, train and retain high-quality staff who reflect our community. As our community continues to increase in its diversity, as the needs of our students continue to intensify and as our educators are faced with more challenges, we must provide high-quality, professional development and support programming for staff. It’s no secret that when staff is engaged, supported and satisfied in their work, student outcomes are better.
• Student and family engagement: The 2,392 students in Brunswick schools represent the foundation of all that we do and should have equal access to all school-sponsored programs and opportunities. BSD will identify and remove barriers to student access to these programs. In addition, demands on families’ time and energy have often impacted their engagement and the effectiveness of our communications. We must ensure our communications are accessible, centralized and transparent to build trusting, collaborative relationships.
If you’d like to learn more about our Strategic Plan, visit tiny.cc/7c5uzz.
Of course, a written plan is only valuable if it’s implemented. To that point, I’d like to share just a few areas where work has begun. Over the past 12 months, we have:
• Introduced the plan to staff, and team retreats have been conducted to draft action steps across all priority areas.
• Worked hard to refine existing data collection practices and processes for attendance, discipline and human resources. We will work to develop protocols to review and act on what we learn through analyzing the data collected.
• Started the process of developing plans for each school that align with the overall strategic plan. These first steps focus on curriculum and instruction, which are at the very heart of teaching and learning.
I know that even the phrase “strategic plan” conjures up visions of a theoretical exercise that never quite makes it into action, but I can assure you that we are working diligently to ensure that every step we take is tied to a goal on our path toward equity, opportunity, growth and development for every Brunswick student.
Phillip Potenziano is superintendent of Brunswick schools.