“We [were given the] chance to really shape our future in the district,” Collin Rasbid, junior, said. “While I was on the [Forward 95] team, I was able to tell administrators and important people in the district my ideas, what I thought, and what I needed for the future.”

The district decided to set goals to guide future decisions. The strategic planning process “Forward 95,” used students, staff, parents, community members, and administration to define initiative.

“Dr. Osburn’s first-year initiative was to set [long term] goals for the district. In order to do that, they worked with a company to work with students, faculty members, and community members to identify the needs and goals of the district. That was done through our end of things as a core group of people, but also through community sessions,” Ryan Rubenstein, assistant principal for activities and facilities, said.

By involving students, staff, and community members, the team was able to create goals based on the wants and needs of everyone in the school. Prioritizing resources and engaging families were just two of the new goals posted to the Forward 95 web page.

“The community at large, and the stakeholders in the building, were able to give feedback on that and what they believe the goals of the district should be over the next 3-5 years,” Rubenstein said. “We took all of that information and developed the main goals for the district. That’s what’s helping all of our decision making over the next 3-5 years. Every decision that we make, ties back to those goals.”

After several meetings and debates, the team developed their plan and now use it to make decisions regarding the role of technology in our school, 21st century learning spaces, and more, according to Rasbid.

“It’s basically our vision for the future in terms of student growth, facilities, and programs,” Rasbid said.

By involving students and community members in the process, the Forward 95 team was able to develop a list of values, goals, and strategies for future decisions that will impact students.