Current and newly elected school committee members pick their top ideas  

MANCHESTER – Manchester Proud and its partner 2Revolutions held a two and a half hour session with current and new Board of School Committee members on Nov. 18, 2019 to share our early ideas for remodeling education in Manchester and to hear their ideas.

The nearly 50 draft ideas, which are linked below, provided to committee members were developed and prioritized by our Community Planning Group. The list won’t be finalized until January, after we have incorporated input from school committee members and community members.  

The workshop was an opportunity for current and newly elected school committee members to share their feedback. We will hold three similar sessions for the public on Dec. 3, 12, and 18, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Once we have confirmed locations, we will post them on our website, Facebook, and Twitter pages.

At last night’s session, 2Revolutions presented the ideas,which are divided into five categories: Teaching and Learning, Finance, Governance, Organizational Effectiveness, and Community Partnerships. School committee members shared impressions with one another, asked for more information as needed, and then identified their top choices in each category. 

“It was inspiring to see our school board members collaborating and prioritizing essential needs to better the Manchester School District,” said Kimiya Parker-Hill, a senior at Manchester West High School and a member of our Community Planning Group. “Their input is crucial to the success of the community’s final plan.”

In addition to Board of School Committee members, members of the public as well as Manchester Proud’s Champions Council and Community Planning Group attended the session held at the Institute of Art and Design at New England College in Manchester.

2Revolutions’ slide presentation is available at this link. The draft ideas shared with school committee members can be reviewed here. Download the document to see details of each idea. The cost, difficulty, potential impact, and potential risk is noted for each, as is whether the suggestion would require a change in school district policy.   

This was Manchester Proud’s second workshop with the Board of School Committee. At the first session, on Oct. 16, 2019, our partner Reaching Higher NH shared its community engagement findings and 2Revolutions presented its school district research. All materials from that session are available on the homepage of our website. 

Manchester Proud believes the future of Manchester depends on the planning we do today – for our city and for our schools. We know that when our schools provide both the basic and new skills and knowledge needed to meet the challenges of tomorrow, they help ensure that the prospects for our city are great. 

Manchester Proud is a community movement to plan for that future.  It is a movement made up of families, students, educators, business owners and community leaders. 

Reaching Higher NH is a nonpartisan 501c3 whose mission is to provide all New Hampshire children with the opportunity to prepare for college, for immediate careers, and for the challenges and opportunities of life in 21st century NH by serving as a public education policy and community engagement resource for New Hampshire families, educators, and elected officials.

2Revolutions is a national education design lab striving to transform the American education system. 2Revolutions works with entrepreneurial leaders and practitioners within K12 and higher education to design, build, and implement new learning models and help catalyze the enabling systems that prepare students for success in the future.