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Bound Brook board narrows goals to four priorities, requests action plans and regular reviews
Summary
At a goal-setting meeting led by an NJSBA representative, the Bound Brook Board of Education agreed to continue four core goals — advancing student achievement, expanding course offerings, recruiting and retaining staff reflective of the community, and strengthening two-way communication — and asked administrators for action plans and periodic progress reports.
Mary Ann Friedman, a representative from the New Jersey School Boards Association, led the Bound Brook Board of Education through a board self-evaluation and a focused goal-setting session, asking the board to keep work to a small set of priorities and to adopt action plans tied to the superintendent's evaluation.
Friedman said the evaluation showed the board scoring above a 3 on most standards and recommended limiting goals to maintain focus. "Continue to advance student achievement by providing the support and resources necessary to achieve the district's strategic planning goals," she said when previewing a proposed goal statement and urged the board to develop measurable action plans and timelines.
Board members discussed adjusting wording and emphasis: they removed the word "new" from the goal about course offerings to allow evaluation of existing programs; debated whether to prioritize items or list them as equally important; and agreed that communication should be explicitly two-way between the district and families. One member proposed adding an outcome-oriented student achievement measure to the district goals without fixing a single metric.
Friedman outlined next steps: the superintendent and administrative team will draft action plans (activities, responsible parties, resources, timelines and evidence) and share them with the board. She recommended scheduled progress reviews in November, January, March (before the superintendent evaluation) and June, and suggested boards adopt district and board goals in September after committees produce action-plan details.
The session concluded with Friedman promising to provide a memo with the revised language and recommended timeline the next day. The board also discussed continuing professional development through NJSBA programs and using committees to develop action-plan details.
