What will Niles Community Schools look like in the future?

How will the district educate its children?

Should the focus be on preparing students for work or college? Or both?

These are the types of things school officials are trying to determine as they go about creating a strategic plan.

And the great thing is — you can help, too.

In fact, input from the community is crucial in determining what direction in which the district will go. After all, how will district officials know what they community thinks if we don’t tell them?

The easiest way to be part of the process is to complete an online survey found by clicking a link on the district website or by typing the following link into your address bar: surveymonkey.com/r/NilesSP2015

Those interested in filling out the survey should do so soon — it will be taken down Dec. 1.

The survey only has a few questions, but they require some thought, so give yourself a few minutes to complete it.

With your help, you can ensure that Niles Community Schools is a place students, teachers and parents can be proud to call their own.

Below is what the district said about its strategic plan initiative:

The Niles Community Schools Board of Education and Administration are launching a new initiative to guide the District through a 3-5 Year Strategic Planning Process. The purpose of this initiative is to help the District develop new goals and strategies in continuing to offer an excellent education for the students, while using scarce public education resources in the most effective and efficient way. Stakeholder feedback is an important part of the planning process. The Board is interested in your input to this process and intends to use data and stakeholder input to make decisions and to set priorities for the District. Please take a moment to complete the online survey.

The survey will be available for your completion through Dec. 1, 2015. We are excited about this process and are confident it will ultimately help the District to be more successful in its mission of educating students.

 

Opinions expressed are those of the editorial board consisting of Publisher Michael Caldwell and editors Ambrosia Neldon, Craig Haupert, Ted Yoakum and Scott Novak.