STEERING COMMITTEE KICKS-OFF BURLINGTON SCHOOLS' MASTER PLAN: Magnet School Pre-Development Begins

March 27, 2008

The next phase of the Burlington School District Excellence & Equity process kicked off with a steering committee meeting on March 19th. The steering committee is comprised of students, parents, teachers, community and city leaders, educators, school board commissioners and district administration who have been appointed to help guide the feasibility and master planning. Frank Locker, of DeJONG.LOCKER, is working with the district to lead this process.
The community-wide market research featured a vision with deep community connections, enhancements in arts, music and environmental sustainability, and increased hands-on learning. The steering committee will join thirty additional stakeholders to form the "Future Team" which will come together for a day and a half workshop on March 31st and April 1st to refine a district-wide vision and develop some key implementation steps for magnet schools.
The "Future Team" will split into several grade-grouped master planning teams. The week of May 5th, separate master plan meetings will focus on elementary, middle and high school grade groupings. A community meeting will be held on the evening of Wednesday, May 7th to provide a progress update.
Input from these meetings will be used to help develop the Excellence & Equity plan. The plan is expected to be presented to the school board and the public in September.