For the next three months, Virginia Beach City Public Schools (VBCPS) administration is giving the community the opportunity to weigh in and help guide the future of the school division. Staff is beginning the process of developing a new strategic plan, which will be in place from 2020-2025, and the first step is gathering input from the public via a Virtual Town Hall open from now until Dec. 28.

"Our community spoke loud and clear in 2014 when we sought their input about the division's future direction," said VBCPS Superintendent Dr. Aaron Spence. "That feedback was vital as we developed Compass to 2020, and I believe one of the reasons we have seen such success under that plan. So we, again, want to hear from a broad spectrum of our community members since this new plan will not only chart the course for teaching and learning that students will experience, but also become the cornerstone of what all Virginia Beach school staff members are working to achieve for students."

To gather input, VBCPS launched a "Beyond 2020" website, complete with the Virtual Town Hall and links to the VBCPS Graduate Profile, a list of attributes that emerged from the previous strategic planning work in 2014 as characteristics that students need to be future ready. As part of the town hall, visitors will be asked to reflect on the graduate profile and provide insight into how the school division can best prepare students in achieving those attributes.

After the Virtual Town Hall closes, input will be shared with a steering committee comprised of students, parents, teachers, school division staff and leaders from higher education, the military, community organizations and businesses. That committee will identify priorities and draft the next strategic framework, which will be shared for public comment before it goes to the School Board for adoption later in 2019.

To learn more about the existing Compass to 2020 strategic plan, which is charting the division's course from 2015-2020, visit vbschools.com. That website includes digital storyboards of the progress the division made each year based on that strategic plan.

###

Department of Communications and Community Engagement, [email protected]

Like us on Facebook || Follow us on Twitter || Follow us on Instagram