First OSD Strategic Planning Meeting Facilitated by AdvanceEd Director

Twenty-three stakeholders gathered on Monday to chart the course for the Oxford School District’s next five years, launching the strategic planning process.

This endeavor will guide the actions of the district, its schools, and department levels. Facilitated by AdvancED, the process will establish comprehensive improvement by which it translates our mission into viable and measurable goals, initiatives and programs.

The meetings are facilitated by Barbara Jane “BJ” Paris, Texas AdvancED Director, who began the first session with her belief that “schools are living organisms, they are either growing or dying — there is no status quo.”

Paris is a longtime educator and past-president of both the National Association of Secondary School Principals and the Texas Association of Secondary School Principals. A recognized advocate for school safety through strong culture, Paris has testified before Congress, served on the White House Panel on Bullying and appeared in multiple media sources to include CNN Headline News, USA Today, and as a school safety expert on national television. She is recognized by governmental proclamations from both the House of Representatives and the Texas Senate for her service to schools, as well as the ASCD Leader of Learners Award, US Commanders Award for Public Service, and the School Safety Advocacy Council Award.

AdvancED advised the district and OSD Board of Trustees to select a committee of students, parents, educators, administrators, professionals and community leaders who were Oxford residents and had a close affiliation with the district. The committee members are:

Marilyn Barnes – AVID Coordinator
Yolanda Logan – Administrator
Romana Reed – Board Member
Hiburnia Anderson – Classified Staff
Toni Avant – Parent & Director of the Career Center at Ole Miss
Kendedrick Jones – Administrator
Angela Brown – Teacher
Mary Martha Crowe – Teacher
Brittany Franks – Teacher
Kelsey Dodson – OHS Counselor
Betsy Smith – Board Member
Steve Hurdle – Administrator
Brian Harvey – Administrator
Bradley Roberson – Administrator
Doug Cromwell – Administrator
Teasha Sanders – Parent & Asst. Oxford Housing Director
Marcia Cole – Community Member
Tristan Shorter – 10th Grade Student
Norah Bruce – 8th Grade Student
Edy Dingus – Community Member
William Schnek – Parent & Associate Director of Croft Institute
Jon Maynard – EDF Chairman
Larry Shaffer – NWCC Assistant Director
Harry Rayburn – Parent
Richard Balkin – Parent and Professor in Counselor Education

In the Spring of 2018, Superintendent Brian Harvey invited the community to participate in creating a Portrait of a Graduate, which defines what skills the district believes most important for 21st-century success.

“We are calling these transdisciplinary skills — the skills that stay with students for the rest of their lives,” Harvey explained at the beginning of the meeting. “We also set the bar high with our 95 in Five plan that defines the measurable benchmarks for the next five years- the disciplinary skills that include student achievement. Your work on the strategic plan will set these initiatives into action.”

Facilitator Paris asked the group to begin by answering three questions: (1) what do you love about the Oxford School District? (2) what changes would you like to see? (3) what do you hope to accomplish with this process?

Common themes appeared for all three questions — the OSD is committed to excellence, innovation and equity.

The committee will meet five times, once per month, January through May.

Courtesy of the Oxford School District