The Fayetteville-Manlius School District is entering its second year of membership to two prestigious educational groups that will support the district’s strategic plan and enhance student performance.
Last fall, the district’s application for membership to The Tri-State Consortium, whose membership includes high-performing school districts from Connecticut, New Jersey and New York, was approved. F-M is the only Upstate New York school district included in the consortium, which has nearly 50 member districts.
Consortium members support each other through external peer review of programs and practices, study groups, conferences and topic-based seminars designed to deepen professional learning, according to the Tri-State website.
“Looking outside ourselves is just as important as looking within when we seek new and innovative practices to engage and educate our students,” Superintendent Craig J. Tice said.
During the 2018-19 school year, district representatives had the opportunity through their Tri-State membership to visit two downstate school districts: Chappaqua Central School District—to learn more about its special education programming—and the Bronxville Union Free School District—to gather information on how students are given more voice and choice in their classes, including service learning projects.
In October 2018, F-M joined the Innovation and Transformational Leadership Network, a collaborative of select superintendents and members of their leadership teams who have been working throughout the past school year to study the strategic planning process and promoting innovation within their district-wide plans. The collaborative is supported by the AASA, The School Superintendents Association, and the New York state-based Successful Practices Network.
Districts participating in the network have access to face-to-face and virtual resources such as meetings, professional learning and collaboration opportunities. Using these resources, F-M’s board president, administrators and classroom teachers have all been involved in the district’s strategic planning process.
“For innovation to take place, there needs to be support from the boardroom to the classroom,” Tice said.