What will Bibb County Schools focus on to increase student success over the next five years? Parents, teachers and community members have an opportunity to share what they think the district should prioritize.

Bibb Schools is offering an online survey to garner public feedback for its 5-year strategic plan. The survey is available through Dec. 2 and can be accessed here: https://rezed.io/1NKZJV.

Results from the survey will be used to help the district formulate its plan for 2023-2028. The plan, entitled #Built4Bibb, will set goals for the district related to student achievement such as: the graduation rate, the percentage of students reading on grade level, attendance, parent participation and teacher preparation. The plan will include actionable steps the district should take to achieve each goal.

The district hosted two public engagement sessions earlier this month that were attended by teachers, students, parents and community members. The sessions were directed by staff from Engage2Learn, a Texas-based education consulting firm the district hired to help with the plan.

Superintendent Dan Sims also is set to host six engagement sessions, one at each high school, over the next month specifically to meet with parents.

“A lot is happening right now as we build for the future of the district and we want you to be a part of that,” Sims said at one of the recent public engagement sessions.

Sims said completing the strategic plan will take some time.

There will be a couple more opportunities in January for the public to engage with the district and provide input in the planning process.

“A true strategic planning process is like an Amazon truck,” Sims told The Macon Newsroom in an August interview. “You take all the time in the world to load that truck up, but you have to put the right pieces on that truck. And that truck does not move until everything is on that truck. And that takes a while, but once that truck gets going, it’s hard to stop that truck. And that’s the approach we intend to take.”

Sims said the plan will be well fed from the needs, concerns and input by the community. He also brings his own ideas for what Bibb students need most to succeed.

“There are two critical things on my mind as far as the vision is concerned,” Sims said. “That is to cultivate a strong desire to learn in every student and to co-create a path to success for every single student.”

The district’s current plan, entitled “Victory in Progress,” was adopted in 2015 and extended but is set to expire at the end of the 2022-2023 school year.

To contact Civic Journalism Fellow Laura Corley, call 478-301-5777 or email [email protected].