Community Planning Group Minutes, Sept. 25, 2019

Sept. 24 2019

Minutes: Community Planning Group

Learning Commons, SNHU

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

  

Community Planning Group members present: Joede Brown, Christina Bui, Donna Crook, Michael Delaney, Amanda Egan, Diane Fitzpatrick, Abigail Gemme, Will Kanteres, Liz Kirwan, Katie LaBranche, Lizabeth MacDonald, Kimiya Parker-Hill, Anthony Poore, Grace Puninu, Mike Skelton, Trinidad Tellez, and Meredith Young.

Community Planning Group members not present Amy Allen, Charles Chretien, Hunter Churchill, Jennifer Gillis, Dr. John Goldhardt, Norma Gonzalez, Rev. Eric Jackson, Nicole Lora, Patricia Lynott, Deo Mwano, Forrest Ransdell, and Anna Thomas.

Also present: Barry Brensinger of Manchester Proud; Rachel Lopkin and Adam Rubin of 2Revolutions; and Evelyn Aissa and Annmarie Timmins of Reaching Higher NH.

Action items:

  • CPG members will engage in at least one Visioning activity. Activities include sharing Manchester Proud’s Facebook and Twitter posts, hosting a Visioning session, attending an Open House, and sharing Manchester Proud’s survey: https://tinyurl.com/MSDVision. See complete list below.
  • CPG members are invited and encouraged to attend Manchester Proud’s work session with the Board of School Committee on Oct. 16, 2019 in the Institute of Art and Design at 148 Concord St. The meeting starts at 5:30 p.m. and ends at 9 p.m.

 Meeting discussion:

Manchester Proud updated CPG on the work to-date, including recent Visioning Sessions with youth services organizations at the Boys and Girls Club of Manchester and with the Manchester Chamber Board of Directors.

Manchester Proud Communications

Reaching Higher NH (RHNH) reviewed the communication plan for Manchester Proud. The plan, which covers June 2019 to March 2020, maps out the communications partnership between RHNH and the CPG. The CPG’s role is critical because members are deeply connected to Manchester and can represent and engage their diverse and vital networks.

 Opportunities for CPG:

  • Attending Open Houses and other community events
  • Sharing MP FB and Twitter posts on their social media channels
  • Writing Letters to the Editor about CPG’s work and Manchester Proud
  • Host Visioning and Validation Sessions with their networks
  • Connect Manchester Proud with diverse communities
  • Attending the three remaining CPG meetings to contribute ideas to the plan
  • Attending BOSC sessions to update the board on CPG’s work
  • Promote the plan when it is presented to the Board of School Committee
  • Encourage networks to attend BOSC session when the plan is presented.

Manchester Proud Narrative

RHNH presented the overarching Manchester Proud narrative:

  • 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. 
  • Manchester Proud is creating a plan to remodel our schools to make sure they have the supports to ready our students, and therefore our city, for the challenges and opportunities ahead.
  • For the last year, we’ve been listening to thousands of people from across our city about what’s working in our schools and what needs updating. 
  • We’re taking all that community input and building a long-term plan to remodel our schools to ensure our students and our city are ready for the future! 

Plan development

CPG members began narrowing the “hunches” or early ideas for the draft plan in a two-hour session that led to many deep discussions about topics as varied as how schools and afterschool programs can more closely collaborate to creative ways to rethink the use of school building space. 

The hunches were organized across the five categories included in the plan: Teaching and Learning, Governance, Finance, Organizational Effectiveness, and Community Partnerships. 

CPG members discussed and debated hunches in all five categories, then each member voted on the five hunches they felt were most important. After everyone had voted, CPG members discussed the hunches that had received votes.

 The CPG will meet three more times before the end of the year to finalize a draft of the plan. They will then take the plan to Manchester communities and groups for feedback. The plan that is presented to the Board of School Committee will incorporate that community feedback.

 The meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m.