Any organization that desires to stay on track and succeed needs a plan. A school district is no exception.

That’s why, in July of 2015, we charged our new superintendent, Dr. Aubrey A. Johnson, with overseeing the development of a comprehensive, five-year Strategic Plan for New Brunswick Public Schools. It was a weighty assignment – when your district includes 13 schools and more than 10,000 students, there’s much to consider. Which is why this plan is such an exceptional document. A huge amount of work went into it – by Dr. Johnson, his administrators, faculty, and staff; our districts’ students and parents; and by those of us on the board, as well – and the final results are terrific.

This plan will provide the Board of Education with a tool to regularly assess progress in six Priority Areas, from Rigorous Academic Programs, Human Capital, and Community Engagement, to Student Accountability, Theme-Based Schools, and Health and Wellness. And it will provide Dr. Johnson and his team with tangible, specific goals and, also, guidelines for how and when these goals can be achieved.

Further, the Strategic Plan features both a vision and a mission statement; two effective tools for making clear our goals and aspirations. From the vision statement comes what we consider to be an extremely powerful phrase that states what we intend to do as a school district – “Prepare, Empower, Inspire.” Three words to remind all of us within New Brunswick Public Schools what it is we’re working to achieve.

As the New Brunswick Board of Education, we’re proud of this Strategic Plan and the tremendous effort that created it. We’re confident it will help us provide better educational service and support to the young people of our community now, and years into the future.

New Brunswick Board of Education 

One of my primary goals for the 2015-16 school year, my first with New Brunswick Public Schools, was creating a five-year Strategic Plan. I’m now delighted to say that this plan is a reality.

The development process began in July ’15 and featured data-gathering and collaborative sessions with other administrators, teachers, students, parents, and Board of Education members. It was exciting, enabled me to meet a wide range of different people throughout the New Brunswick community, and ensured a broad diversity of thought in our final document.

The initial step was what I often refer to as my “Listening & Learning Tour,” when I visited schools and community organizations and spoke with just about everyone I encountered about their experiences with our district. I learned a great deal about the areas in which we excelled, and I also received candid feedback about types of improvement that were necessary. Overall, I was able to determine specific “themes” that were most important to our core stakeholders.

After I’d listened and learned, the next step was conducting a district-wide survey, and also inviting district staff members to draft New Brunswick Public Schools mission and vision statements. Participation and enthusiasm were remarkable; we received about 800 submissions. These various statements were shared with building administrators, central office staff, and union leadership, who all worked together to narrow the submission down to ten finalists. In turn, we considered commonalities, culled our list down to the top three statements, and finally were able to come up with words that encapsulate what we’re striving for.  Here are our statements:

Vision: 

To Prepare, Empower, and Inspire lifelong learners and leaders

Mission:

New Brunswick Public Schools will prepare, empower, and inspire students to become engaged in their own learning, their environment, and the world. Students will develop their creative problem-solving and critical-thinking skills to innovate solutions to complex challenges. The entire community will collaborate to create a nurturing environment that allows students to reach these goals.  

Dr. Aubrey A. Johnson 
Superintendent of Schools 

Dr. Aubrey A. Johnson, Superintendent of Schools

Steering Committee Members:

Magaliz Azcona-Ortiz, World Language Specialist; Alba Lugo, Vice Principal, New Brunswick High School; Dr. C. Roy Epps, President, Civic League of Greater New Brunswick; Dr. Vanessa Pellington, Director of Assessments, Planning & Program Evaluation;  Dr. Marnie McKoy, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources; Ellen Treadway, Principal, Lord Stirling Community School, Keira Scussa, Assistant Superintendent for C&I

Sub-Committee Members:

Board Members:

Mrs. Diana Solis, Board President; Dr. Dale Caldwell, Vice President; Benito Ortiz, Board Member; Patricia Sadowski; Emra L. Seawood, Jennifer Sevilla; Edward Spencer; Diana Solis; Patricia Varela

Staff:

Parents:

Kellie Peavy, Katie Rosa

Community Partners:

Wanda Blanchett, Ph.D., Dean and University Professor, Rutgers Graduate School; Jose Carlos Montes, Chief Executive Officer, Puerto Rican Action Board; Reverend Errol Cooper, Director of Pastoral Care, First Baptist Church; Emmanuel Ford, Founder/Executive Director, New Brunswick Education Foundation; Sean Hewitt, Civic League of Greater New Brunswick; Jim Jack, Director of Education & Outreach, George Street Playhouse; Eric Jahn, MD, Senior Associate Dean, RWJ Medical School; Keith Jones, Community Organization Specialist, City of New Brunswick; Stephen Jones, Chief Academic Officer, RWJ University Hospital; Meredith Masin-Blount, Program Director, School Based Youth Services Program; Jennifer Miné, Civic League of Greater New Brunswick; Dr. Eve Sachs, Coordinator, Rutgers Future Scholars; Pamela Stefaneck, Executive Director, New Brunswick City Market; Sheila Witherspoon, Ph. D, Vice President, New Brunswick Education Foundation 

VISION:

To Prepare, Empower, and Inspire lifelong learners and leaders

MISSION:

New Brunswick Public Schools will prepare, empower, and inspire students to become engaged in their own learning, their environment, and the world. Students will develop their creative problem-solving and critical thinking skills to innovate solutions to complex challenges. The entire community will collaborate to create a nurturing environment that allows students to reach these goals.