Norwood committee approves strategic-plan action steps, adds new staff safety training

The Norwood School Committee on June 3 approved a consolidated set of strategic-plan action steps to guide district priorities next year, passing the measure by a 4–0 voice vote.

Superintendent Dr. Luff described the document as the product of consultations with a superintendent advisory team, building principals and parent-teacher advisory groups. "I took a variety of action steps, probably, I wanna say, like, a 100 different options that we had for each different category," he said, explaining staff prioritized options and condensed them into the action steps the committee was asked to approve.

The approved steps cover teaching and learning, climate and culture, communications, resources, facilities and technology and are intended to feed into school-improvement plans and next-year goals. Luff said the district will present success indicators and the supporting data in forthcoming 'State of the Union' and goal documents.

At the committee's request, the superintendent added a safety-training action recommended by a board member: enhanced staff safety training called CRAZE professional development in place of older 'run, hide, and fight' approaches. "...enhancing safety training for staff through, we call craze professional development," Luff said, describing the new training approach.

Committee members also asked that the actions be tied to measurable metrics; one member noted clear success indicators in the last column of the document and looked forward to annual reporting.

The committee approved the set of action steps on a motion from a member and a second; the vote was taken by voice and recorded as 4–0 in favor.

Staff said items not included for next year will be carried forward into subsequent years of the five-year strategic plan.