4 Corners March 2019 4 Corners March 2019

4 Corners A Publication of Lauderdale County Schools Volume VI Issue 8 March 2019 Strategic Planning Underway in LCSD The strategic planning process is of1icially underway in Lauderdale County School District. On March 4, 2019, Impact Education Group, under the lead- ership of Dr. James Hutto and Mr. Scott Lewis, met with our Central Services staff to discuss needs, gather data, and develop timelines. The 1irst step in this strategic planning journey is completion of the stakeholder survey. In order to develop and articulate a strong vision, mission, and goals, it is vital to have a clear understanding of our stakeholders’ ideas and perceptions of all aspects of the school district. Therefore, we are asking our entire com- munity to get involved by completing the brief online survey. The survey is located on the Lauderdale County School District website homepage at www.lauderdale.k12.ms.us. The survey will close on Friday, April 5, 2019. A strong strategic plan will serve as a roadmap in this transformation jour- ney to guide and inform future decisions of the Lauderdale County School District. We would like to thank the Phil Hardin Foundation for their 1inan- Dr. John-Mark Cain, Superintendent cial support in making this process possible. Spring testing season is upon us. Students across the Lauderdale County School District will be involved in one or more testing opportunities in the coming weeks. As we view every testing opportunity as a means to dem- onstrate academic growth and achievement for our students, the results of these assessments serve a much broader purpose as well. In order to have strong communities with thriving economic development, the most critical piece in this puzzle is an educated workforce. A skilled, trained workforce translates into higher wages, increased property values, better infrastructure, enhanced opportunities for investment, and more tax revenue for state and local economies. All of these elements are vital to making Lauderdale County an attrac- tive destination for future business and industry. Testing serves as the vehicle where expectations of excellence and workforce preparedness are measured by stakeholders. Therefore, as we continue throughout this testing season, we encourage teachers and students to 1inish strong, as Lauderdale County School District has some of the brightest students in the nation. Spring sports are also in full swing in Lauderdale County School District. Our district is fortunate to have very talented student athletes. Whether your passion is baseball, fast-pitch softball, tennis, or track & 1ield, I encour- age you to support your community school and the athletes competing. Best of luck to all of our teams this year! Respectfully, Dr. John-Mark Cain, Superintendent Lauderdale County School District