The Dist. 87 school board is revising the mission statement and goals of the district. (B. Corbin/WJBC)

By Stephanie Pawlowski

BLOOMINGTON - The District 87 school board is making progress on crafting a new mission statement and set of goals.

The board met in a special session Monday night to continue working on the process, which started last summer.

The proposed mission statement reads:

"The educational mission of Bloomington Public Schools is to challenge, support and inspire all students to learn and achieve to their highest potential in order to become productive citizens and lifelong learners."

The school board started out crafting five goals, but after two hours of discussion decided to make five vision statements instead and add specific goals later. The five proposed vision statements include:

1. Academic Achievement. Students will annually improve their academic skills in the core curricula performing at least at grade level or higher as evaluated using District assessments.

2. Educational Environment. We will promote mutual respect, an appreciation for student and staff diversity, and the importance of family and community engagement in order to provide a supportive learning environment in which students can succeed.

3. Personnel. We will employ, support and retain an outstanding and diverse staff.

4. Facilities. We will maintain facilities that are safe, energy efficient and conductive to teaching and learning.

5. Finances. We will manage the District's resources and spending as responsible stewards for our taxpayers and community.

Although the board found agreement, formal adoption is still a few weeks away. Superintendent Barry Reilly said the administration will next work on specific goals to bring to the board for consideration.

In September, the board held a public input meeting with a couple dozen members of the community to get ideas to crafting new goals. The board has met in special sessions since then to draft new statements. The board has been working from a draft created by member John Dirks and Monday night, member Judith Webster brought her own draft for consideration.

Stephanie Pawlowski can be reached at Stephanie.Pawlowski@Cumulus.com.