The ASBSD Board of Directors has adopted a long-term blue-print for the association that board members say is future-focused and responsive to changing needs of school boards.

Board members endorsed new mission and vision statements and reworked belief statements and four broad organizational goals during their March 7 board meeting. The plan will drive future budget and programming decisions.

“It’s a plan of forward-looking ideas,” said Bev Banks, president of the Belle Fourche school board and a director from the Western Region. “The statements reflect new and relevant ideas.”

Susan Humison	Bev Banks
2nd Vice Pres.	Board Member

Only four current ASBSD directors were serving on the 18-member board in 2005, when the organization last revised its mission and vision. The degree of board turnover, combined with the ever-changing public school environment, prompted the strategic review.

“[The strategic plan] reflects where we are now,” said ASBSD First Vice President Susan Humiston, a board member from Edgemont who has served the Western region since 1997. “We’re a different organization and this is a different board.”

The strategic plan is the end-product of a two-day board retreat, held mid-February in Pierre. During the facilitated work session, board members built consensus around broad concepts – student achievement, school board leadership, advocacy and the promise of public education – to underscore the organization’s new direction.

ASBSD President Duane Alm, a strong strategic planning advocate, says he is pleased with the result and credits his fellow board members for their commitment to the organization.

“The organization is moving in the right direction," Alm said. "We're positioned to meet the changing needs of South Dakota's students and school systems.”

Alm was also quick to praise board’s newer directors for their contributions to the long-range planning process.

“The new board members offered valuable insight during the process" Alm said, adding that their enthusiasm and fresh perspective kept the organization looking forward.

NEW ASBSD LONG-RANGE FOUNDATIONS

ASBSD advances public education by empowering local school board leaders and advocating for a thriving education system.

South Dakota students are positioned to individually excel and responsibly contribute in the 21st Century. School board members are engaged local leaders who embrace their role in providing responsive, transformative education systems that maximize South Dakota's investment in public education.