All school districts in Pennsylvania are required to develop a strategic plan every six years. Reynolds' current plan expired in 2001 and the district is now working on its new plan. School districts have a year to write a five-year plan.

Superintendent Dr. Anthony Trosan explained that unlike the previous strategic plan, which encompassed the operation of the district, the new plan will focus more on instruction and curriculum guidelines.

"It used to be that you could talk about buildings and grounds ... now it's focused on instruction as opposed to operations," Trosan said.

Trosan and JoAnn Bova, the district's director of curriculum and instruction, explained the strategic planning process to the committee, who will act as advisers.

Trosan said the committee may prepare two documents: one for the state and one addressing noteworthy items that do not fall within the scope of the strategic plan requirements that staff would like to share with the district.

The committee reviewed the Chapter 4 Strategic Planning Guidelines and the Academic Standards and Assessment prior to the meeting and took a quiz which Trosan prepared. The quiz was similar to the Pennsylvania state assessment test to mimic what the students experience.

Other information reviewed included the Reynolds 1996-2001 visionary document of the strategic plan, as well as the Reynolds' current instruction improvement plan.

The final activity for the day included splitting the committee into four groups for a brain-storming activity.

Trosan said the committee is working on assignments for subcommittees and is also surveying expectations of college admissions offices. Trosan said he is conducting interviews with former Reynolds students now in college.

Times and places for figure strategic planning committee meetings will be determined on the basis of information from committee members and will be announced as part of the district's schedule of events.

Trosan said he expects the plan, which is due for submission Sept. 30, to be completed by June.

Once the committee develops the strategic plan, it will be available for public inspection for at least 28 days. Then it will be presented to the school board for approval.

Once the board approves the plan, it will be submitted to the state Department of Education for approval.