To the Editor:
Typically a school system must solely focus on dealing with the latest crisis or simply keeping everything running relatively smoothly. Rarely do they get a chance to make lasting and meaningful improvements that will affect many generations of students.
The ACPS 2020 Strategic Plan is an opportunity to be proactive, instead of reactive. The Plan is an amalgamation of the best ideas from those invested in Alexandria education — teachers, parents, community members, and policy experts. I was fortunate to be a part of this conversation, participating in discussions with many of my peers to ensure this plan represents the interests of perhaps the most important stakeholders — the students. We can honestly say this plan represents the goals and visions of those whose lives are impacted by the School Board’s decisions every day.
However, the recurring questions from students were: “What will it look like? When are we going to see the effects? What does it mean to me?”
This is where the challenge begins. It is easy think about what we want to happen, but considerably more difficult to put that into practice. The mission statement for this plan is straightforward: Every Student Succeeds. While the definition of success varies greatly from student to student, as it should for everyone, it must entail growth. That is exactly what we need from our school division — change being made not for the sake of change, but for pushing us forward as we move toward our future. With this thoughtfully crafted strategic plan, our vision for the future is nothing short of 20/20. Now it is up to the system to make that vision a reality.
Amanda Eisenhour
Chair, Superintendent's Student leadership Committee
Junior, TC Williams