Guest Editorial: School district aims for excellence

By Chris Selle
Meeker School Superintendent
Special to the Herald Times
rbc I During the 2015-2016 school year, the District Accountability Committee

(DAC) for Meeker School District RE-1 shouldered the responsibility of updating the school district’s strategic plan. In doing so, the DAC departed from traditional plan writing which often involves multiple, detailed action items. A document with multiple, detailed action steps often turns into a “to-do” list where the focus becomes checking off items on the list. It was believed that, from the district level, the appropriate action was to develop a vision for the school district which will define who we are, rather than what we will do. The outcome of this belief is the Meeker School District Strategic Vision document that can be found at www.meeker.k12.co.us under the “Our District” tab on the left side of the webpage.
Because the school district’s vision statement is “Excellence in All We Do” the strategic vision was built around what is believed to be necessary to maintain “Meeker Excellence.” A key component to ensure we maintain Meeker Excellence is to clearly define, and remain focused on, our purpose as an organization. Simply put, Meeker School District RE-1 exists to meet the needs of students. Maintaining this purpose may look vastly different at each building, but it shall be the core of why we exist as an organization.
The mission statement for our school district states: “It is the mission of the Meeker School District to seek the highest possible level of success for each student. The District will provide a safe environment in which students learn those skills necessary to become well-informed citizens and contributing members of society.” In order to achieve and maintain our vision of Meeker Excellence, we must remain steadfast in the following four focus areas that flow from our mission statement:
– Provide a successful school experience for all students
– Ensure a safe learning environment
– Produce young adults equipped to be productive citizens
– Nurture strong community connections
These four areas form the basis of the Meeker School District Strategic Vision. More detail regarding the four focus areas can be found in the document posted on our website.
Who we are determines what we will do. Simply developing the strategic vision document with no follow up action would be an exercise in futility. Specific actions already occur within the buildings to meet the strategic vision. Additionally, our administrative team consistently discusses what further actions we will take to align with the vision outlined in the document. The DAC has also assumed the responsibility of monitoring implementation of the Strategic Vision. As such, the DAC will be receiving regular updates from the building principals and superintendent regarding how the Strategic Vision is manifested in specific actions throughout the district.
Meeker Excellence is more than simply a tag line. It is an ideal that, when embraced, will push all of our students to maximize their potential. Because I see evidence of this ideal on a daily basis in our schools, I am greatly encouraged that we are meeting the needs of our students. As I consistently state regarding a number of observations about our schools, this gives me one more reason to proclaim I am proud to be a Meeker Cowboy.