From the Superintendent

 
November 7, 2024
 
Hello, MSD Community. 
 
I'd like to provide an update on the status of MSD's Strategic Planning. To support this process, we established the Core Planning Committee to oversee logistics, planning, and communication, ensuring smooth operations throughout. The committee began by inviting interest from the MSD community to join the Strategic Planning Steering Committee, which has since formed with 44 members.
 
To gather additional community input, we distributed surveys to the MSD community, seeking feedback on our school's vision, mission, and belief statements. These survey results serve as foundational input for the Steering Committee's work, and we are grateful to everyone who participated—your feedback has been invaluable. The survey results are now available online for your review.
 
The Steering Committee has scheduled four meetings throughout the school year to guide the planning process, with a target of presenting a draft five-year strategic plan to the Board of Trustees at the May 2025 board meeting.
 
On Friday, October 25, the Steering Committee held its first meeting, officially launching this year's planning process. During this meeting, the committee received an overview of the strategic planning process, emphasizing the importance of a well-defined plan. The presentation also outlined the committee's role, timeline, and meeting expectations. Examples of strategic plans from other schools for the Deaf were shared to illustrate different approaches to plan design, providing inspiration for our own roadmap. This foundational work will also inform our upcoming accreditation process, set to begin next school year.
 
In the afternoon, committee members worked in three small groups, rotating through data review activities and group discussions. One session involved reviewing the survey results on our school's vision, mission, and belief statements, brainstorming potential updates. The groups also conducted a SWOT analysis, identifying MSD's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats based on the data, which will help shape our strategic priorities. Committee members now have access to a shared folder with all essential data, assets, and reports for this process, including documents, notes, visuals, and other resources to support their work. 
 
We are now planning for our second Steering Committee meeting, scheduled for November 15. In preparation, we are gathering input from our middle and high school students through their student body councils, inviting them to share what they like about MSD, what they feel could be improved, and what it would take to make MSD their dream school. During the upcoming meeting, we will continue reviewing data, start identifying needs and priorities based on our analysis, and work on refining our vision and mission statements to ensure they align with the needs and aspirations of our school community.
 
All communications and updates can be found on our school website. Additionally, the results of our school climate surveys are now available online. While MSD is actively addressing areas identified in the climate surveys, this information will also support the Steering Committee's efforts to prioritize goals in the new strategic plan.
 
This is an exciting journey, and I appreciate the dedication the Steering Committee has shown in shaping MSD's future. I will continue to keep you informed as we move forward.
 
Thank you, 
 
John A. Serrano
Superintendent 
 
October 9, 2024
 
Greetings, MSD Community:
 
As part of our ongoing strategic planning process, we invite you to participate in two important surveys. One focuses on evaluating our vision and mission statements, while the other is centered on our belief statements.
 
The vision, mission, and belief statements are key pillars of our strategic planning process, guiding the direction of our school and shaping our priorities for the future. The vision defines our long-term aspirations, the mission outlines how we achieve those goals, and the belief statements reflect the core values that shape our decisions and approach to education. 
 
During the strategic planning process, we evaluate these statements to ensure they align with the evolving needs and priorities of our school. Your feedback will help ensure our goals remain focused and relevant as we develop a comprehensive plan for MSD's growth over the next five years.
 
Please take a few moments to complete both surveys by Tuesday, October 22.
 
We appreciate your participation and thank you for your continued support.
 
John A. Serrano
Superintendent 
 
>> Complete Online Survey on MSD's Vision and Mission Statements 
 
>> Complete Online Survey on MSD's Belief Statements 
October 3, 2024
 
Greetings, MSD Community:
 
This is a friendly reminder to submit your nomination for the Strategic Planning Steering Committee. We are looking for dedicated and passionate individuals—staff, families, and community members—to join us in shaping the future of MSD.
 
This will be an organic process, shaped by the diverse perspectives of our school community. The strategic planning process will play a key role in reviewing our programs and services and helping to set strategic goals and priorities of MSD for the next five years. We are committed to ensuring the committee reflects the wide range of perspectives within our school. 
 
We are especially looking for more nominations from our aides, student support staff, student life, and fiscal and operations teams. Your unique insights are essential to making this process truly representative of our school community.
 
In addition to the committee's work, we will engage the broader MSD community through surveys and focus groups over the course of the year, with our first survey being shared next week.
 
Serving on the committee is a wonderful opportunity to make a lasting impact and be a part of a process that will grow and evolve with your input. If you are interested, please submit your nomination by tomorrow, Friday, October 4th, by the end of the day.
 
For more information about this process, please visit our Strategic Planning webpage at www.msd.edu/strategic-planning/. 
 
Warmly, 
 
John A. Serrano
Superintendent
 
>> Complete Interest Form to Join the Steering Committee
 
>> Comité Timón del Plan Estratégico
 
September 24, 2024
 
Greetings, MSD Community.
 
I am pleased to announce that we have officially begun the strategic planning process for 2025-2030. This is an important and exciting time for MSD as we initiate an effort that will shape the future of our school. With the educational landscape and the workforce evolving rapidly, MSD must continue to adapt to prepare for the opportunities and challenges ahead. This strategic planning process will ensure that we remain at the forefront of Deaf education, meeting the needs of our students, staff, families, and the community for years to come.
 
The strategic planning process involves a thorough review of our programs and services, paired with input from our stakeholders. We've launched a dedicated Strategic Planning webpage, which will serve as a central resource for updates throughout this process. The page includes a general overview of the process, the timeline, and the stakeholders involved. As we progress, additional information will be added to keep you informed and engaged. Please visit the webpage at www.msd.edu/strategic-planning/. 
 
We are deeply committed to involving the MSD community every step of the way. Your feedback and engagement are essential to developing a plan that reflects our collective vision for the future. To guide this effort, we are establishing a steering committee, which will be composed of representatives from various parts of our community. The committee will be tasked with reviewing data and making recommendations to identify strategic goals and address the priorities of MSD for the next five years.
 
The steering committee will consist of the following members:
  • Teachers
  • Aides
  • Student Support Staff
  • Secondary Transition
  • Administrators/Supervisors 
  • Student Life (e.g., Residential, After School Programs, and Athletics)
  • Fiscal/Operations
  • Parents/Families
  • MSD Leadership Team
  • MSD Board of Trustees
  • Community Members (e.g., alumni and supporters)
In addition to the steering committee, we will actively seek input from the entire MSD community through surveys and focus groups over the course of the year. These surveys and focus groups will cover different aspects of MSD, helping us identify emerging needs and trends as we work to develop a comprehensive and forward-thinking strategic plan.
 
It is our goal to complete the MSD Strategic Plan for 2025-2030 by the end of this school year. The MSD Board of Trustees will review and approve our five-year Strategic Plan at their quarterly meeting in May 2025. For more information on our timeline and important events in this process, please visit www.msd.edu/strategic-planning-timeline/. Please note that this list is not final, and we will be adding more events and dates to the timeline throughout the year.
 
We will continue to share regular updates as we move forward with this process. This is an exciting opportunity to chart the course for MSD's future, and we look forward to your involvement. Together, we will ensure that MSD remains a leader in Deaf education for the next five years and beyond. 
 
Let's dream big. 

John A. Serrano
Superintendent
 
>> Complete Interest Form to Join the Steering Committee
 
>> Comité Timón del Plan Estratégico
 
August 26, 2024
 
Greetings, MSD Community. 
 
Two weeks ago, we had the pleasure of welcoming 23 new employees during orientation. Additionally, we were thrilled to welcome our new teachers, who participated in engaging training sessions led by our Curriculum and Instruction team.
 
Last week, our teachers and staff returned, kicking off Staff Week—a time dedicated to collaboration and preparation for the upcoming school year. The energy on the first day was electric as we embraced this year's inspiring theme, Dream Big!, which resonated throughout the day. Our primary focus last week was on professional learning and creating the right conditions to ensure all students are set up for success. This included reviewing student information and setting up academic plans for the year. With these preparations complete, our teachers and staff are excited and ready to welcome your child(ren) back for the new school year this week. 
 
We're also pleased to announce that the Student/Family Handbook and the Student Code of Conduct for the 2024-2025 school year are now available online. This comprehensive resource is designed to provide you with essential information about our school policies, procedures, expectations, and support services. We've made some updates to the Student Code of Conduct to ensure clarity, reflecting our ongoing commitment to the safety and well-being of our students, staff, and families. Whether you are a returning family or new to our school community, the handbook is here to guide you through the upcoming year at MSD. You can access it online at www.msd.edu/handbook/. 
 
As partners in your child's education, I encourage you to take some time to review the handbook together with your child(ren). If you have any questions or need clarification on any of the content, please contact your child's department principal or Dr. Latasha Bacote-Owens at [email protected]. 

Your active engagement with the handbook and our Student Code of Conduct is greatly appreciated as we work together to create a successful and supportive learning environment for all students.
 
It was a pleasure having many of you at our Back-to-School event today, and we look forward to welcoming your children back to school tomorrow. 
 
Let's continue to Dream Big!
 
With Orioles Pride, 
 
John A. Serrano
Superintendent