Rancocas Valley Regional High School District conducted their second community engagement session as part of the Vision 2020 Strategic Planning Process. We are pleased to report that we had 71 participants in session #2, which doubles the number of participants from session #1 in October (31). A few important themes emerged during this session. The participants felt that the two most prevalent opportunities within the communities were School and Community Connections and the opportunity for Career Building. A close third included RV’s Student Tutorial as a valued opportunity at Rancocas Value. The RV community participants felt that the Diverse Population was clearly one of the strengths followed by the Extracurricular Offerings, and the strong Pride and Spirit across the District. The group expressed the weaknesses when they discussed the Rigor of Instructional Levels across the academic program. This was followed by a sentiment that the current schedule places teachers and students under a Time Sensitive Pressure for Instruction within a larger Class Size. The participants of session #2 agreed that the culture of Rancocas Valley was Congenial, Positive, Inclusive within a feeling of Tolerance among the school community. Clearly, the challenges expressed by the group included Access and Achievement within the program of studies, Articulation with the 5 k-8 sending districts, and the facilities.
I must say that the session was energetic with a room packed full of stakeholders that love Rancocas Valley! The input is extremely valuable and we will compile all of the data gathered during the community engagement sessions to inform the steering committee when they begin their work in February 2017. Thank you to all that participated!
The next session will be on Thursday, December 15th at 7 PM in Room C-120 at the High School. We encourage everyone to attend, but we really want the students to contribute in December!