Committee reworking Dist. 26 strategic plan

What will Cary Elementary District 26 look like in five years?

That's one of the questions a committee tasked with reworking the district's strategic plan is attempting to answer in a series of meetings. The strategic plan steering committee is tasked with developing new plan that establishes new goals, vision, values and mission for the district. Group members met for the fourth time Tuesday to discuss categories to include in the district's vision.

“They are working on the vision right now of what the district will look like five years down the road,” said Sam Ritchie, an education consultant hired to assist the district in the process. “It will be different and hopefully better than they are now.”

The committee, which is comprised of parents, teachers, administrators, board members and members of the community is volunteer-based, but all members have one common goal: to provide the best education possible to all students.

“We have been through an awful lot in the past few years and it is time we begin to think about where we want to go and how we want to improve the education in the district,” said Kurt Kaiser, a father of two students said.

"It is going to take hard work and sacrifices and it is important to me to be involved in something that is this important.”

The committee is expected to meet six more times before finalizing a strategic plan to present to the board of education.

Superintendent Brian Coleman said a strategic plan is typically a document developed by the board of education. The district's current approach allows more people to be involved in the process.

“This is very collaborative and everyone has a voice,” Coleman said. “It provides ownership in terms of where we want the district to go.”