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Manassas board narrows focus, will collect concrete action items for priorities via Google form
Summary
At an April 16 work session the Manassas City School Board agreed to reword its priorities as action statements and to collect each member’s top action items via a Google form to be collated for a retreat, prioritizing concrete steps under the umbrella goal of "elevating student outcomes."
The Manassas City School Board used a work session on April 16 to move from broad vision language toward a shorter list of actionable priorities and agreed to collect individual board members’ top implementation items through a Google form for refinement at a future retreat.
Miss Lo, who led the session, told members the packet included both a summary of survey responses and verbatim answers and asked the board to do a brief silent reflection before using a cooperative “talking‑chips” structure to surface priorities. She recommended starting priority statements with active verbs so they are measurable and actionable.
“Elevating student outcomes by supporting year five of the MCPS strategic plan,” Miss Lo proposed as a framing example for priority No. 1, and asked members to suggest specific bullets that would make the priority measurable. Board members repeatedly pressed for a small set of concrete items — several said past success came when the board limited its work plan to three clear, deliverable objectives.
Suggestions put forward for items under student outcomes included sustaining career‑pathway programming, expanding CTE and workforce offerings, strengthening staffing and retention strategies, and increasing dual‑enrollment and advanced‑placement participation. Members emphasized those actions should be tied to division data on attendance, graduation, and teacher retention before being finalized.
The board agreed on a two‑step process: members will each submit their top three action items for the three priority buckets using a Google form Miss Lo will distribute to board staff (Sher and Alba). Staff will compile the responses and present a narrowed punch list at the board retreat for final selection and wording.
Members also discussed stakeholder engagement as a separate priority, with several supporting renewed outreach such as reviving the Parent and Community Leadership Academy. A board member described PCLA as a multi‑week academy that previously built trust and encouraged community participation; members asked staff to include documentation about PCLA in retreat materials.
The board scheduled follow‑up at the retreat and directed staff to assemble and circulate the Google form and timeline for responses. The process is intended to produce a shorter, measurable set of priorities the board can monitor and report on.
