It has been understood from the start of conversations related to capacity and a potential bond, that we will need specific, purposeful input from decisions. On February 11, 2016, Sherwood School District broadly reached out to its stakeholders in a call to action. Using all our resources, including email subscriber lists, parent listservs, phone contacts, and our web site, we sought to find any and all community, staff and parent participants that would be willing to be part of a Bond Visioning Committee. Dozens of attendees came together to support the work, from City Council and Sherwood Police representatives, to School Board members, parents of students, and employees of the District. The committee, which convened during three evenings, on February 16, 22, and 29, collaborated in smaller groups with the objective of developing the guiding principles for a potential bond, and to align the goals within the Strategic Plan to the District’s facilities. A recap of each of the Bond Visioning Committee meetings can be found below:stakeholders including staff, administrators, and community partners in order to make the best.

Bond Visioning – Meeting #1

February 16, 2016, 83 Attendees

After a brief welcome from Superintendent Cordie, consultant Karina Ruiz, of Dull Olson Weekes IBI-Group Architects, Inc. (DOWA), facilitated a presentation and hosted introductory discussions. She was assisted by the District’s Assistant Superintendent, Gary Bennett, who provided an overview of the newly adopted Strategic Plan, its development process, and the integration of “Game Plans”, tools that were the result of an activity used during development by the Strategic Plan work group to reveal priority focus areas for the District’s future initiatives.

Following an informative PowerPoint on “Next Generation Learners” (linked below), attendees were placed in groups of 8-10 and were asked to produce responses to three prompts: 1) What physical characteristics of space support achieving positive student outcomes? 2) How can space help create a positive culture for students, staff and the community? 3) What elements of buildings would allow SSD to ensure efficient and effective operations? These questions were designed to guide conversations as the Bond Visioning Committee continues to work together with the objective of linking the Strategic Plan to District facilities.

Bond Visioning – Meeting #2

February 22, 2016, 71 Attendees

Monday evening, February 22, we held the second of the three Bond Visioning Committee meetings. The committee members were placed in work groups and were asked to think of ideas as to what facility elements or features embody or lack support for six major themes that emerged from their work in the first Bond Visioning Committee Meeting. The committee’s conversations led to the development of specific Guiding Principles (linked below), including ideas generated by the groups to illustrate examples of projects that they felt would honor the principles while meeting the needs of facilities. They are suggestions the District can consider when costing and/or designing future projects to upgrade or expand on Sherwood Schools, but no specific projects have yet been identified by the District.

Bond Visioning – Meeting #3

February 29, 2016, 59 Attendees

During our final meeting on February 29, we began to connect the work that attendees accomplished in collaborative break-out groups earlier in the process, to other elements that could help shape a capital improvement bond.

Groups were again formed throughout the room, to offer their responses to prompts in “lightning rounds” that were designed to touch upon the eight key themes that had emerged from the bond visioning work:

  • Capacity
  • Safety & Security – Intruder, Fire/Life Safety, Seismic
  • Welcoming & Community Use
  • STEM/STEAM Facilities
  • Technology
  • Upgrades to Older Facilities
  • Next Generation Learner Facilities
  • Extended Learning Areas

In concluding the series of meetings with the Bond Visioning Committee, we wanted to afford members the opportunity to provide individual comments regarding any of the discussion themes that we covered, so we collected their feedback in a survey that was completed during the last segment of the evening.