Egg Harbor Township School District kicks off community strategic-planning process, highlights progress and survey priorities

Egg Harbor Township School District leaders opened a community strategic-planning kickoff meeting stressing continuity with prior plans and soliciting public input on priorities for the next three years. Superintendent Dr Kimo reviewed programs implemented under the last plan and set a public process that includes small-group workshops, a follow-up meeting on April 30 and goal-setting on May 21.

The superintendent framed the district’s mission this way: “we Embrace, engage and educate our students and their families,” and said that the previous planning cycle produced changes staff intend to sustain. Presentations from central-office staff credited specific initiatives — a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS), the Renaissance student-recognition program, mental-health partnerships with providers such as Atlanticare, full-day kindergarten, an esports arena and an innovation lab — as outcomes of earlier planning.

Lanna Mullen, the district’s data lead, presented stakeholder-survey results the district used to guide tonight’s discussion. Mullen said the survey drew 472 responses and that the district is “at about 50% economically disadvantaged” and that figure is “closer to 52%” as of the most recent counts. Other headline numbers she gave: about 3% multilingual learners and about 20% of students with individualized education programs (IEPs). On program priorities, Mullen said 83% of respondents flagged full-day kindergarten as a top program to continue.

The survey used 1–5 scales; items scoring 3.5 or higher were treated as positive. Academics averaged 3.9, curriculum-for-career 3.8, and academic supports 3.6. Areas scoring below the 3.5 threshold included school lunches (3.2) and breakfast (3.3); transportation and technology scored 3.6. Open-ended responses and subgroup breakdowns raised recurring concerns about meal quality, bus communication and HVAC/overcrowding at elementary grades as preschool expansion continues.

Assistant Superintendent George West summarized goal-two work on climate, culture and expanded learning opportunities, noting STEAM integration, career-exploration events and expanded extracurriculars. Assistant Superintendent Lily Moss described academic-growth work centered on universal screening and PLC-driven interventions tied to MAP Growth measures, particularly new K–2 screening capability.

After staff presentations, small groups reported top themes from their 'glows and grows' exercises. The most frequently cited priorities were (1) clearer, streamlined district communication and translation/continuity across platforms; (2) facility and space planning to address overcrowding as preschool and enrollment grow; (3) student supports including mental-health services and special-education resources; and (4) improvements to food services and nutrition.

The superintendent closed by describing how the district will combine AI-assisted synthesis with human review to refine the community’s themes and develop goals at upcoming sessions. Staff asked attendees to leave index cards capturing their comments; the district will incorporate those cards with the digital survey and group reports.

Next steps: the district will review tonight’s themes at a follow-up session on April 30 and expects to develop goals and an action timeline on May 21.