The New Albany-Plain Local School District's strategic plan will kick off Dec. 3 with an information session about the planning process.

The event will begin at 7 p.m. in the New Albany High School Jefferson Room and will provide those in attendance with information on the plan and ways to become involved with it.

Debra Lowery, a NA-PLS parent and community member who is working with district communications director Jeff Warner as an internal facilitator for the plan, said the kickoff event would be a good way for people to learn, ask questions and generally understand strategic planning.

"The goal is to engage the larger community in providing input into the strategic-planning process," she said.

Lowery said the session would begin with an explanation about the strategic-planning process. Participants then will break into smaller focus groups and will be asked to answer questions regarding the school district's future.

The idea is for plan leaders to gain a better understanding of what the community wants in the NA-PLS strategic plan.

Lowery said the district would seek volunteers for the various action teams identified by the 30-member planning committee, which is expected to meet for a three-day planning session Jan. 5-7.
Each action team will consist of 15 to 20 members, who will explore and help create an implementation plan for each strategy identified by the larger planning committee.

The action teams will meet every Wednesday from February to early May.

Lowery said she and Warner still are working to complete the list of planning committee members.

John Messelt, an associate with Cambridge Strategic Services, will take over for Cambridge president Bill Cook as the district's external facilitator for the plan.

Messelt will facilitate the planning committee's three-day session, train action-team leaders Feb. 3 and help Lowery and Warner with strategic-planning needs.

"When we did our training, there were four or five different staff members that presented different parts," Lowery said. "One person really stuck out as someone who would be a really good fit for our community."

According to the Cambridge Web site, Messelt is the former superintendent for the Kimball Area Public School District in Kimball, Minn., and led the district through the Cambridge strategic-planning process.

Messelt, who has a bachelor's degree in industrial-arts education from Moorhead State University, his master's from St. Cloud State University and an education-specialist degree in educational leadership from the University of St. Thomas, currently is the executive director of the Central Minnesota Educational Research and Development Council.

Lowery said school board members were comfortable with the recommendation to use Messelt as the district's facilitator.

Those interested in more information about the plan and how to get involved should visit the district's new strategic-planning section of its Web site: www.new-albany.k12.oh.us.