At the January 8 Organizational Meeting of the Westerville City Schools Board of Education, Superintendent John Kellogg shared plans to engage the community in a discussion related to the Facilities Master Plan recommendations made by a community group in December 2017. The formation of the committee and its subsequent work stemmed from community feedback gathered last year during the district's Strategic Plan update. At that time, community participants indicated that the district should address its most pressing infrastructure needs and bring schools up to date to support 21st Century Learning & Teaching practices. In addition to meeting with staff members at every school in coming weeks, Dr. Kellogg has scheduled seven community meetings that are open to the public:
- McVay Elementary, Wednesday, January 24, 6:30 - 8:00 p.m.
- Westerville South High School, Saturday, January 27, 9:00 -10:30 a.m.
- Hawthorne Elementary, Monday, January 29, 6:30 - 8:00 p.m.
- Early Learning Center Board Training Room, Thursday, February 1, 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
- Alcott Elementary, Monday, February 5, 6:30 – 8:00 p.m.
- Annehurst Elementary, Wednesday, February 7, 6:30 – 8:00 p.m.
- Wilder Elementary, Saturday, February 10, 3:00 - 4:30 p.m.
During these meetings, Dr. Kellogg will present information about the current state of district facilities, as well as findings of the community Facilities Committee. The committee issued its report to the Board of Education during its regular meeting on December 11. The Facilities Committee presentation, along with subsequent Board discussion, is available on the district’s YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/WCSDOhio. Dr. Kellogg’s presentation also will include some new information and subsequently developed visuals. The same information will be shared during each of these community meetings, so interested parties can attend any of them as their schedule permits.
Feedback will be captured through an online tool called Thought Exchange. “This makes the analysis of input faster and allows participants to see and rate the input shared by others,” Dr. Kellogg explained. “Following these meetings, district officials will analyze the input collected to determine if revisions are needed to current recommendations under consideration by the Board of Education. The current plan allows for two phases of community involvement with June 11, 2018 targeted for a final presentation to the Board.”
The district soon will be launching a web page specific to this facilities process. That page will include the December 11 presentation by the Facilities Committee and expand over time with additional resources. Even though materials will be accessible electronically, Dr. Kellogg encourages people to attend at least one of the community meetings, as there is still tremendous value to participating in person.