Heather Carignan

The Huron Valley Schools' five-year strategic plan aims to foster excellence in education and prepare students for success in work, college, and advanced coursework. It is structured around five key goal areas: Innovative Programs, Resources and Infrastructure, Marketing Communications, Social Emotional Learning Supports, and Safety and Security. The initial focus is on maximizing resources and infrastructure to attract and retain staff, enhance learning opportunities, and provide comprehensive support for students, thereby enabling innovative programming.

The committee discussed career-focused education, including Career Technical Education (CTE) for students from junior kindergarten through 12th grade. The goal is to expand CTE and vocational skills by increasing exposure and learning opportunities across all grade levels. Discussions covered the differences between career-focused education and CTE, teacher qualifications for CTE, and the integration of career pathways into the curriculum. They also explored expanding career opportunity exposure systemically across all elementary schools, increasing community partnerships for work-based learning, and potentially adding new career pathways like Health Sciences and Natural Resources/Agriscience at the middle school level. The committee also touched upon expanding course sequences that lead to industry-based certifications at the high school level.

The committee meeting discussed the Strategic Plan 1.0 and innovative programming, focusing on developing a goal statement, objectives, and implementation items. The discussion included designing and implementing innovative core and elective curricula, implementing flexible scheduling and structures, and expanding Career Technical and Vocational skills. The meeting also covered gifted and talented programming, aiming to implement additional options at the middle school, offer daily schedule options, and increase exposure to various career options. The identification process for gifted students was discussed, including the use of i-Ready assessments and the CogAT test.

The discussion focused on the construction work and strategic planning in Hiron Valley Schools. Key topics included the implementation of bond proposals, dealing with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on construction costs, and the strategic plan's goals related to innovative programming, school safety, marketing, and social-emotional learning. The conversation also covered the difficult decision to close a middle school and consolidate into two middle schools, as well as renovations at White Lake Middle School and Milford High School. Additional projects included renovating recreation pools into collaborative STEM spaces.

The committee discussed Innovative Structures, focusing on how to integrate innovative programming into the school day. They reviewed the strategic plan 1.0 objective to develop innovative programs, enrich Career Technical Education, and maximize instructional minutes. The discussion included high school programming, graduation requirements, elective opportunities, and career pathways. The committee also explored potential structures such as adjusting school start and end times and implementing block scheduling to maximize learning opportunities.