At the beginning of this school year, Del Val revealed its new strategic plan for the next five years. 

The strategic plan is a method of mapping out the goals for the future at Del Val. In the past, Del Val has always had some form of plan for the future. After the old plan had expired, the administration decided it was time for an update.

This new plan is divided into four main sections to ensure the most important areas are focused on.

“The goal of a strategic plan is to focus and align the work of the school district, all of the teachers, administrators, board members, business office and the athletic office,” said Del Val’s superintendent Scott McKinney.

The first section of the plan is Program, Curriculum and Instruction. The focus of this portion is course options and adding new educational opportunities, along with making sure students are academically prepared for their future.  

A second aspect of this plan is Communication. The main priority of this section is to help make the school stronger at communicating both internally and with the community.

Governance/Fiscal Management is the third area of the new strategic plan. The concept of this section is to make sure that Del Val provides students with opportunities to reach their full potential. 

The final section of the new plan is Student and Staff Wellness. The priority of this area is to ensure the physical, emotional and social well-being of both the students and staff at Del Val.

This plan was designed based on the input of our students, staff, administration and community, according to McKinney. To gather this information, the administration had countless discussions with staff, along with sending out surveys to the students and community. 

The administration did more than just get feedback from the community to fully develop this plan, however.

”There was also a third party,” said principal Michael Kays. “There’s an organization from Kean University that assisted us along the way with the development of this and in getting all the data.”

There are many different ways students can aid the administration with the future of this plan.

“If you get emails of ‘looking for your feedback,’ answer them, and be honest, because we can give our best guess of what we think students like, or what works for them, but we need your feedback,” said Kays.

If anyone is interested in getting more information about the strategic plan, they can view Del Val’s website or directly contact Principal Kays and Superintendent McKinney.

“We need to be able to move and pivot with the times because as we prepare, nobody knows what’s going to happen in five years from now,” said McKinney.