The ayes have it: School vision statement gets a tentative OK

Empowering students is at the heart of the vision statement crafted by the Carson City School District's Vision and Strategic Planning Committee.

The statement: "Our community empowers tomorrow's innovators, leaders and thinkers," was tentatively approved at Tuesday's school board meeting.

Trustees approved it on the condition that it be revised at the end of the process, which is expected to be completed by March.

The vision statement was drafted after months of collecting suggestions from more than 100 participants through community meetings and online.

"I think the community meetings were really successful," said Ben Contine, chairman of the committee. "Even more impressive than the number was the diversity of the participants."

The ideas collected from teachers, parents, students, business owners and other community members from a variety of ages, backgrounds and ethnicities were compiled into a 14-page document.

From that, it was narrowed down to six themes, which served as the guideline for the vision statement.

Jody Ostrander, 14, served as the student representative on the committee.

"We really had to break it down," she said. "We thought about every word in there so it would still work 10 years from now."

For instance, she said, the word "future" was replaced with the word "tomorrow."

"Tomorrow is a lot easier to grasp and look forward to," she explained. "Future is a lot broader and not as easy to see."

Joanna Wilson, school board president, suggested that "learners" be added to clarify who is being empowered.

"There's just something missing for me personally from this statement," she said.

Other clarifications also were suggested, but trustee Lynette Conrad said it was sufficient.

"I like it," she said. "I think it's positive and that it's simple."

From here, sub-committees will look at measurable goals the district can set to adhere to the vision statement.

The six categories first identified have been narrowed to four: Flexibility and choice in curriculum, parent engagement, community partnerships and student health.

Committees will be formed on each of the topics to form a list of goals and objectives. Those lists will then be reviewed by the Vision and Strategic Planning Committee and presented to the school board for final approval.