CPG members are closing in on creating a plan to share with the public by year’s end.

Community Planning Group Minutes, Oct. 23, 2019

Oct. 23, 2019

Minutes: Community Planning Group

Gustafson, SNHU

5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Community Planning Board members present: Katie LaBranche, Hunter Churchill, Liz Kirwan, Amy Allen, Deo Mwano, Trinidad Tellez, Anthony Poore, Norma Gonzalez, Forrest Ransdell, Mike Skelton, Jenn Gillis, Donna Crook, Diane Fitzpatrick, Christina Bui, Mike Delaney, Liz MacDonald, and Joede Brown.

Community Planning Group members not present: Kimiya Parker-Hill, CJ Chretien, Rev. Eric Jackson, Dr. John Goldhardt, Abigail Gemme, Nicole Lora, Grace Puninu, Amanda Egan, Will Kanteres, Patricia Lynott, Anna Thomas, and Meredith Young.

Others present: Barry Brensinger, coordinator of Manchester Proud; Rachel Lopkin and Adam Rubin of 2Revolutions; Talmira Hill and Kathy Cook of the Inclusivity and Equity Committee and Manchester Proud Champions Council; and Liz Canada and Annmarie Timmins of Reaching Higher NH.

 Inclusivity and Equity Committee: 

The Inclusivity and Equity Committee updated the Community Planning Group on its proposal, grant awards, ongoing work, collaboration with the Manchester School District, and timeline for community engagement.  

The committee’s goal is to more deeply connect families and students of color with Manchester Proud’s efforts and develop a deeper understanding of their experiences in Manchester’s public schools– and, how we can work together to help our schools become inclusive and equitable for all students.  

Meeting discussion:

One of our student CPG members chooses his top five ideas for Teaching and Learning.

The Community Planning Group reviewed and discussed the ‘hunches’ or ideas it had prioritized at its prior meeting. Members further narrowed the list by choosing five “hunches” they considered most important for each of the five categories: Teaching and Learning; Organizational Effectiveness; Finance; Governance; and Community Partnerships. As part of their analysis, members were asked to consider the potential impact of each hunch and the degree of difficulty it would take to implement the hunch. 

Group members also discussed how best to share the narrowed list of hunches with the people, groups, businesses, and organizations within Manchester for feedback. This ‘validation phase’ of the work is critical, helping to ensure at each stage of the planning process there are meaningful and accessible avenues for the public to continually engage. 

CPG members identified community constituencies for small-group validation sessions as well as those important to reach in broader communications efforts as Manchester Proud works to make sure it is sharing information as openly and widely as it can with the community.

Those constituencies include parents, students, educators, school administrators, community and civic leaders, youth-serving groups, taxpayers, business owners, municipal officials, the Board of School Committee, and city departments. Communications strategies included city-wide and small group validation sessions, news stories, letters to the editor, social media, yard signs, and creative marketing.

CPG members were asked to commit to hosting at least one validation session for at least three of the five categories. Reaching Higher NH and 2Rev will circulate a sign-up sheet for validation opportunities.

Community Planning Group members were encouraged to attend the next BOSC Workshop on November 18th at the Institute of Art and Design at New England College. 

The meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m.