After several months of discussion, officials from the Lamar County School District Board of Trustees have agreed to accept a new five-year strategic plan, which addresses updated measures such as academics, core values, facilities, personnel, transportation and food services throughout the district.
The plan was approved at this month’s board meeting after being presented by Scott Lewis, managing partner of Impact Education Group, an organization of professionals in the education arena who are dedicated to improving schools and increasing student achievement. As part of that plan, a group of stakeholders identified three major goals: teaching and learning; a culture that promotes social and personal well-being; and ensuring the district’s learning environments are at a “21st Century” capacity.
“In your case, you see the understanding that what’s best for the child is not just teaching and learning, but also dealing with the social, emotional and personal (issues) – the whole child concept of your plan,” Lewis told board members at the meeting. “(The plan states) that when you work on the actions within the plan, you will always consider the following events: things like sustainability, things like costs.
“So now we have a goal area defined to really clarify your intent, for expectations of what each of those areas really should address.”
The plan was presented during a two-day meeting on February 22 and 23, where it was reviewed by approximately 35 high school students, community members, parents, teachers, administrators and members of the district’s central office. It updates the district’s last strategic plan, which ran from 2017 to 2022.
“We’re required by the Mississippi Department of Education to update our strategic plan every five years,” school district superintendent Steven Hampton said in a previous story. “And so we felt coming out of COVID and all the changes we’ve had, (that) it was a good time for us to go ahead and redo our strategic plan.”
As part of the strategic plan, school district officials even proposed a new mission statement, which is “It is the mission of the Lamar County School District to provide an equitable learning opportunity in a safe environment that challenges, motivates and empowers 21st Century learners.”
“Before we implement anything in our district – whether it be a program (or anything else) - we have to consider those things before we can move forward with it,” Hampton said. “So this is kind of giving us boundaries to operate under. (The meetings were) a very powerful two days, and it’s not just me.
“It was so powerful, the fact that we got together a very diverse group of people … and the whole focus was on students and student outcomes, and what’s best for our students. I could not be more pleased with how that whole process played out, and I appreciate everybody being open and honest. We had some tough discussions about some very real things that are going on in our district, such as mental health issues and the fact that some of our facilities need to be updated.”
The plan was adopted for consideration at a December 2022 board meeting. Officials then sent out a survey regarding the plan to teachers, students, parents and community members before compiling that data to present at the two-day meeting in February.
“We had a wide group (made up) of everyone who’s a part of our school district, to have a voice at the table,” Hampton said.
Impact Education Group’s leadership team includes Lewis, partner James Hutto, partner Kevin Lewis, chief operating officer Susie Dillard and chief development officer Tom Clark. Consultants include Terry Ingram, Lynn Brewer, Ann Sullivan, Malisha Siders, Tammy Hubbard, Mary Webb, David White, Elizabeth Repsher, Debbye Reed, Si Thompson, Kathy Stennett and Paula Thomspon.
