MANCHESTER, NH – Manchester Proud – a citizen’s coalition committed to uniting Manchester behind an aspirational vision for our City’s schools – said in its recent presentation to the Board of School Committee’s (BOSC) that community engagement with Manchester Proud has already exceeded expectations and is set to grow even more rapidly in the coming months.
Manchester Proud noted it has already formed five community-led work groups and held over 40 meetings; it has held over 50 fundraising visits and raised over $300,000 from the Manchester community; and it has already released a Request for Proposal seeking a firm to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the Manchester School District (MSD) to provide the community with a baseline, objective understanding of the current state of learning in the City. (See more on this, including the application timeline, below).
“The community’s response to Manchester Proud continues to amaze and inspire us,” said Barry Brensinger, of Lavallee Brensinger Architects and Manchester Proud’s Coordinator. “There is clear consensus that now is the time for this essential work, and we simply cannot fail.”
At the BOSC Aug. 27 meeting, Barry, Arthur Sullivan of Brady Sullivan Properties, and Patty Lynott of Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU), provided an update on behalf of Manchester Proud to the BOSC. Other highlights from the briefing include a number of upcoming community engagement efforts Manchester Proud has planned, including:
- A community survey that will go live on Manchester Proud’s website this week to gather input and engage community-members in the work;
- Neighborhood canvasses across the city starting on Saturday September 15 at McLaughlin Middle School;
- One-on-one meetings with every school principal in MSD; and,
- A community resource mapping workshop scheduled for October 18 to be held at SNHU.
Lynott added, “We are excited that so many people have already signed up to join in a canvass or listening session. As students, families, and educators head back to school Manchester Proud will be out there talking with them, celebrating all of the amazing work happening in our classrooms, and listening about how we can move forward together.”
Arthur Sullivan said, “Manchester’s business community continues to deepen its support for Manchester Proud. The Chamber of Commerce, for example, has hosted a number of meetings and plays a pivotal role on the communications work group and community resource mapping work group. It is clear the business community recognizes our future depends on our ability to educate our students and retain our graduates.”
Manchester Proud invites and welcomes members of the community to join in supporting Manchester’s students. As part of the strategic planning effort there will be numerous town halls, workshops, and other community events, and all are invited to attend, participate, and join in the visioning of our schools. For additional information on Manchester Proud and to join go to http://www.manchesterproud.org and check out Manchester Proud on Facebook.
Manchester Proud is a New Hampshire Voluntary Association committed to championing success for Manchester’s Students. Manchester Proud is committed to fully fund a community-driven, year-long effort to create a new strategic plan for the Manchester School District.
More on the RFP: Manchester Proud seeks qualified firms to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the Manchester New Hampshire School District (MSD) and its individual schools. The RFP is from Manchester Proud, a New Hampshire Voluntary Association with the mission of privately funding and then supporting a new strategic plan for MSD.
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Deadline for submitting Notification of Intent: 5 p.m. EST Tuesday September 4, 2018
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Deadline for submissions: Noon EST Friday September 14, 2018
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Window for interviews: Monday September 24 – Friday September 28, 2018
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Selection and Notification: Monday October 1 – Friday October 5, 2018
⇒WATCH: Click play to view the hour-long RFP Pre-Application webinar
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Editor’s Note: In support of our community and ManchesterInkLink’s mission of connecting the news of people, places and things that matter most to city residents, publisher Carol Robidoux has volunteered her time as a member of the Manchester Proud communications work group to assist in developing a strategy for public information.
