Brandon Twp.- The 10-year plan is in place and work is underway.
During the Feb. 9 school board meeting, Brandon 2025, a plan for transforming the district in the next decade, was presented by students, parents and staff.
‘A lot of goals in the action plan are in the big picture,? said Superintendent Matt Outlaw. ‘We’re making detailed plans in each of the goal areas, consulting with our experts in reading, math, and writing, and planning how we’re going to move things forward in the future. Most of the work to be done is on the instructional side.?
The Brandon 2025 committee has been meeting since early fall and consisted of 40 people, including district faculty, school board members, parents, students, and other members of the community. The goal of the committee was to identify strengths and weaknesses in the district, provide feedback and brainstorm ideas for improvement.
One of the primary goals of Brandon 2025 is to perform in the top 25 percent in all areas tested by the state within 10 years. Another measurable standard will be to have 85 percent of Brandon graduates accepted to college and a plan for all non-collegebound graduates.
Other targets include ‘athletic and extracurricular success? as well as ‘outstanding operational management and fiscal stewardship.?
To achieve academic goals, there will be alignment of K-12 curriculum, enhanced support of reading, writing, and math, and concentration on high quality use of instructional time, with effective professional development. Also key will be improved use of assessments and systematic interventions.
Outlaw noted that work toward improving operations in the district, including fiscal stewardship, is already ‘well along the path.?
Dave Green, Brandon Middle School teacher and a member of the Brandon 2025 committee, expressed confidence in the path on which Outlaw is taking the district.
‘We’ve never had as qualified and inspirational leadership as we have right now,? said Green at the Feb. 9 meeting. ‘We need to respond to changes. There will be a lot of work we need to do, we need to address a lot of things.?
Since taking over leadership of the district in July, Outlaw has stressed the importance of ‘right-sizing? the district, which has lost more than 800 students since 2006. He projects the district will continue losing enrollment during the next 10 years due in large part to lower birth rates. Brandon had roughly 300 students graduate last year, while the kindergarten class numbered only 100.
Outlaw said a ‘serious discussion of right-sizing? would take place at the next school board meeting, set for 6:30 p.m., March 16, at the ITEC Center, 609 S. Ortonville Road.