And who framed it?
By: Ruth Luse
According to Hopewell Valley Regional School District Superintendent Robert Sopko, the Strategic Plan, unveiled Monday night, involved widespread community involvement and a planning process that “engaged over 500 members of the Hopewell Valley community — including people representing local businesses, staff, parents, residents whose children are not in school yet, residents whose children are no longer in school, representatives from local governing bodies, school board members, and students.
“The process was guided by a steering committee composed of residents, staff and parents,” the superintendent said.
The Strategic Planning Steering Committee was responsible for “detailed planning and oversight of the process,” said Dr. Sopko, and included: Steve Cochrane, principal of Hopewell Elementary School; Dennis Copeland, resident; Richard Gregg, parent; George Helmstetter, parent; William Hills, school board member; Maureen Ludwig, parent; Patricia Priesing, the district’s Strategic Planning coordinator; Bernadette Schetler, teacher; Ronald Spych, resident; Carl Swanson, school board member; and Dr. Sopko himself.
“Another strength of the process was the use of solid methodology that would produce meaningful results,” added the superintendent. “Dr. Harrison Sokoloff of the University of Pennsylvania led community forums that focused on the community, its values and resources, and the school district as a reflection of the community’s values and resources. The forums were valuable in two ways — the participants had an opportunity to be in conversation with others representing all aspects of our community and the information collected and distilled by Dr. Sokoloff guided the work of the Strategic Planning Council.”
The Strategic Planning Council, which developed the Belief Statements,, Mission Statement and Goals (discussed in a related account this week), is composed of: Barbara Ackerman, resident; Robert Alexander, teacher; John Bach, principal of Central High School; Kat Barnwell, teacher; Rebecca Bruccoleri, student; Cherie Campbell, parent; Karen Carlson, parent; Steve Cochrane, principal of Hopewell Elementary School; Deborah Conover, parent; Dennis Copeland, resident; Gabe Corens, student; Richard Gregg, parent; Amy Hail, teacher; George Helmstetter, parent; Judy Hill, parent; William Hills, school board member; Alice Huston, Hopewell Borough Council member; James Loper, Pennington Borough Council member; Maureen Ludwig, parent; William Murphy, director of Pupil Services; John Nemeth, school business administrator; Anne Nosnitsky, resident and business person; Jason Orlosky, student; Larry Pall, parent and business person; Patricia Priesing, district’s Strategic Planning coordinator; Cheryl Rigel, teacher; Jennifer Riley, student; Betty Saar, parent; Bernadette Schetler, teacher; Robin Seiz, parent; Charles Stephens, parent and minister; Carl Swanson, school board member; Becky Taylor, parent and business person; Sally Turner, school board member; and Dr. Sopko.
The Strategic Planning Council’s work began with a weekend retreat in April and continued through several evening meetings. The council used the information from the community forums, hosted by Dr. Sokoloff, and other data to frame the Belief Statements and the Mission Statement. These statements in turn led to the seven specific goals with strategies and actions (discussed in a related account).
In a report to the community about the Strategic Plan, Dr. Sopko said, “Members of the Hopewell Valley Board of Education join me in expressing our gratitude to all of the community members who participated in this important process. We are very pleased with the quality and integrity of the product and look forward to working with you to implement this strategic plan. We would also like to thank Bristol-Myers Squibb for the generous donation that funded the process and Merrill Lynch, who donated use of conference facilities for the weekend retreat. The young people of this community will be the benefactors for years to come.”