Gadsden ISD schedules districtwide community meetings to inform planning and needs assessment

Ms. Villalobos, presenting on community outreach, outlined a district schedule of community meetings for 2025-26 intended to collect input for the district needs assessment and to give parents, students and staff information on budget, HR, special education, technology and other department work. The first meeting is scheduled for Sept. 23 at Gadsden High School with both a morning session for students and teachers and an evening session for parents. "Number 1 is education to the community because there's going to be presentations from everybody," she said, describing the sessions as including superintendent and departmental presentations and surveys to capture feedback.

Villalobos said the meetings will be held both in the morning (about 9:30 a.m.) and evening (about 5:30 p.m.) so students and teachers can attend morning sessions and parents and community members can attend evening sessions; each meeting will use surveys to broaden participation and document needs for federal program planning. She described community meetings as distinct from recurring school events like Coffee with the Principal and cultural events, emphasizing that the community meetings are formal inputs the district uses for its annual needs assessment.

Board members asked how students and teachers would be represented and how attendance and coverage would be handled; Villalobos said sessions will be advertised to all students and that surveys will be used to gather broader input. She confirmed the district will translate materials into Spanish and hold meetings at community centers to expand access. No formal action was taken; the presentation set a schedule and approach for outreach and the board endorsed moving forward with the meetings.