School Plan Invites Community, Conversation
Published Feb 11, 2009
Dr. Vince Bertram, Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp. superintendent, oversees a district with more than 22,000 students, 3,000 employees and 40 schools.
After 55 forums and more than 250 meetings with groups and organizations, the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp. adopted a new strategic plan in March 2008.
But the conversations didn’t stop with the board’s unanimous vote.
“Since the plan’s adoption, we have held over 100 meetings,” says Dr. Vince Bertram, superintendent of the 22,000-student district.
“Education is a complex enterprise, and schools cannot do the work alone,” he says. “It takes collaboration and the coalescing of resources to address the needs of the whole child.”
The plan includes several objectives, such as increasing college placement and completion rates, eliminating the achievement gap between populations, and expanding support networks for students and parents.
At center stage is the goal of improving the educational environment for all children. The plan calls for construction of two new schools, renovations and expansions for existing schools, and other improvement projects that total $171 million.
“Some communities have cited school quality as the most significant barrier to economic development,” Bertram says. “We must have high-performing schools, well-maintained facilities and schools in proximity to high population-growth areas. Education is essential to producing a quality workforce and ensuring a community’s overall quality of life.”
The district is helping to create a future “filled with abundant economic opportunity” by establishing a more innovative, efficient and dynamic educational model, says Bob Jones, president and CEO of Evansville-based Old National Bancorp.
For Jones, exciting highlights of the plan include the creation of early childhood learning centers and enhanced learning and communication tools such as interactive white boards and in-classroom IP phones.
Old National is donating space to house the new Center for Family, School and Community Partnerships.
The strategic plan is a research-based, systemic approach to improving student achievement, Bertram says.
The plan’s five core focus areas are:
1. Early childhood education for the district’s most vulnerable children.
2. State-of-the-art technology available in all schools.
3. Continuous, job-embedded professional development for all faculty and staff in the district.
4. Innovative school models to give families real educational choices.
5. Creating additional family, school and community partnerships.
“We cannot permit another generation of children to go through our system without addressing the barriers to their success,” he says. “We must operate with a sense of urgency. Our children are here now, and they must be prepared to succeed in a competitive global marketplace.”
Story by Paige Clancy
Photo by Brian McCord
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