Last week, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum & Instruction Melissa Szymanski sent all staff an update on the Portrait of a Hastings Learner and a call for action.

"I want all Hastings families to see an excerpt of Dr. Szymanksi’s message," said Superintendent Dr. William McKersie in his Community Update on January 13.

Below is a copy of Szymanski's message to staff.

We are well into the new year and excited to share more information about our Portrait of a Hastings Learner (POHL) process. 

In December, a small group of POHL Core Team members presented to the Board of Education. The purpose was to share information about the Portrait process, a draft of portions of the Portrait, highlight emerging insights, and outline the next phase of work. As a reminder, the details of this presentation are available to you in this slide deck.

Newly created for your viewing pleasure is this brief video, produced by Communications Consultant Jackie Saviano and featured speakers, intended to bring you into the work through the voices of some of our Core Team participants.

We are now in the process of creating an Action Step Planning Committee. This is a faculty committee. The purpose of this group will be to create concrete, 18-month action steps associated with each of the three goals that the POHL Core Team designed. The Action Step Planning Committee will be facilitated by Judy Wilson on February 8 from 12-3 p.m. and on March 21 from 12-3 p.m. Following the planning process, we will solicit additional feedback from various stakeholders and refine what has been created. Implementation of the action steps will begin in July 2023. 

We will continue to keep you updated, especially when we turn again to parents, families and students for input and critique.