Featured image of article: Everything you wanted to know about the ConVal Community Forum on November 10

Everything you wanted to know about the ConVal Community Forum on November 10

CONVAL SCHOOL DISTRICT COMMUNITY FORUM

ConVal High School in the Lucy Hurlin Theater.

Thursday, November 10, 2022 at 6:30 – 8:30 PM

Your ConVal School Board and Administration are finalizing the activities for the next ConVal Community Forum on Thursday, November 10 at 6:30-8:30PM. We are excited about providing you this opportunity for a constructive, open, informative and meaningful dialog. With an activity such as this there are lots of things to know so you can be prepared for participating in and making this a successful experience. To learn all about this activity please see below:

Where and when is the Community Forum?

ConVal High School in the Lucy Hurlin Theater and via Live Stream on Thursday, November 10 at 6:30-8:30PM.

 What is a community forum?

A community forum is a meeting where there are presentations and all can discuss, share knowledge, and talk to each other about topics of mutual interest.

Why do we need a community forum?

School board meetings, being business meetings, provide a limited venue for The ConVal School Board and Administration to engage with our community. We believe in being open and transparent in all of our activities. We believe in ensuring that the ConVal community is engaged and informed. A community forum is one mechanism to achieve these goals.

How do I attend the Community forum?  

We are providing two ways for the public to attend the community forum. You can come to the Lucy Hurlin Theater at ConVal high school to attend in person or you can attend the forum via a Live Stream feed from the forum. 

How is the Community Forum organized?

We have selected three important topics to be presented. Each topic will start with a presentation and after the presentation there will be an opportunity for either audience to ask questions. Each question will be answered by the presenter or by a member of the School Board or Administration. We have also allowed time for both audiences to ask questions on any other school district relevant topic. There will be a moderator that will control the flow of information and activities at the community forum.

How are questions presented? 

After each of the prepared topics are presented, the in-person audience will have an opportunity to ask questions directly to the moderator who will direct the question to the appropriate person to answer. Members of the audience that are remote and on the live-stream will be able to submit their questions via email ( to community forum members. These folks will select questions from the emails received and give to the moderator who will direct the question to the appropriate person to answer.

How do I attend remotely via live stream and how do I submit questions?

The live stream will be done as a YouTube event. This means that the community forum will be recorded as a video on U-tube so that not only can it be viewed as it is taking place but it can be viewed at any time after the community forum is completed as it will always be on YouTube servers.. 

To view this forum via live stream at 6:30 PM on Thursday, November 10th, click on this YouTube link ConVal Events or type in this link https://www.youtube.com/c/ConValEvents then select the “2022 October 10 Community Forum” video from the list of available videos.

To send in a question via email please use the following email address Forum@conval.edu.

Why should I attend the ConVal community forum? 

It is your money, it is your school district, it is the education of your children, and it is your community. Be involved. Make a difference.

How do I get some information about the presentations prior to the forum?

A draft copy of the ConVal Strategic plan is available for your review. The link address to click on to review the draft copy is below. You will have time to formulate your questions and send them in advance of the forum, if you desire. To send in a question via email please use the following email address Forum@conval.edu.

What topics are being presented?

  1. PRESENTATIONS.

There will be three presentations at this forum being:

  1. Renovation project. This presentation will be done by Jim Fredrickson, School Board Representative – Sharon and will be an overview/status/update of the renovation project that is currently scoped to include the high school, ATC, and the two middle schools (Great Brook and SMS).  This will be the first presentation and with Q/A’s is scheduled to take 20 minutes.
  2. The Strategic Plan, It will be presented in two parts. The first by Tom Burges – School Board Representative – Peterborough and the second will be presented by Kimberly Saunders, ConVal Superintendent. This presentation will give the audience information about the background for a Strategic plan, the activities, including community involvement that has taken place, activities that will take place to produce a final plan, how the plan is implemented and summarizes the five year Strategic Plan that will involve the below priority areas:

QUALITY CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION

SUPPORTIVE STRUCTURES & CLIMATE

SUPPORTIVE STRUCTURES FOR DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION, AND ACCESSIBILITY

EFFECTIVE AND EFFICIENT ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES, FINANCIAL PROCESSES, AND INFRASTRUCTURE

MAINTAIN HIGH QUALITY STAFFING THROUGH RETENTION, RECRUITMENT, AND CULTIVATING AND MAINTAINING A DESIRABLE WORK ENVIRONMENT.

This will be the second presentation and with Q/A’s is scheduled to take one hour.

  1. Upcoming Events. This presentation will be done by Dick Dunning and will be an overview of school board upcoming activities that are important for the community to know about, including budget, board meetings, committees etc. and to let the community know why it is important for them to participate.

This will be the third presentation and with Q/A’s is scheduled to take 15 minutes.

Meet and greet.

New for this forum. The meet and greet will take place from 8:30 – 9-00 PM in the ConVal High School cafeteria, which is directly across from the Lucy Hurlin Theater. . It is an informal gathering opportunity for our community members, School Board Representatives and Administration to take advantage of light refreshments and talk to each other about topics of interest that affect our school district and community. There is not any formal agenda for this event.

Links to important information

. To view the Agenda please click HERE

. To view a draft of the Strategic Plan please click HERE

. To see why you should attend in person please Click HERE.

. To see why you should attend on-line please click HERE