On Sept. 26, 100 students, parents, educators and community members from the district attended their first meeting in the yearlong planning process.

In August, the school district's board of trustees and Superintendent Steve Rowel decided to invite all the stakeholders of the district to develop a long-range plan to improve the students' educational experience.

The meeting was the district's largest meeting ever in soliciting input from people. Similar large-group meetings are scheduled about once a month until next April. The goal is to complete drafting the plan by next May and submit it to the board of trustees for approval in June.

Three focus areas surfaced from the September meeting: personalized learning community; partnerships for success; and powerful teaching, learning and support. A fourth focus area, infrastructures, was identified as the foundation to support the other three areas. Determining goals for the three focus areas will be the heart of the next meeting, on Oct. 24.

"We have more than 2,300 students in our school and they are all different," said Monte Vista High School Principal Betty Pow. "It is important to increase personalized learning for each student so they can reach their potential and grow."

The 100 members didn't reach a consensus casually. They were divided into 14 groups, with representation from all stakeholders in each group. Judy Ness, an educator with 37 years of experience, was hired by the district to facilitate the process so Rowel, board members and other administrators could fully participate in the discussions. They reviewed the district's critical data for the past 10 years, such as student ethnicity, dropout and expulsion statistics, and testing information. They also shared their concerns about and expectations for the district.

Almost all participants shared the six beliefs developed by the board of trustees in August. The six visions are:

•Family and community are partners with the district in fostering the skills students need to be lifelong learners and contributing members of society.

•Many of the students' unique, personal, cultural, social, ethnic and religious aspects should be respected.

•Each student in every school/program will experience the highest levels of learning to reach his or her fullest potential.

•A safe, supportive, respectful and productive learning environment is essential to all students and staff.

•A highly skilled, dedicated and caring staff has a direct and powerful influence on students' lives and learning.

•Being accountable is essential to promote continuous improvement and meet the needs of students in a changing economy and society.

"A lot of the issues raised have to do with how to make the student a whole person," said deputy superintendent Polly Bove. "In the following six meetings, we will find out how to achieve that goal."

The Fremont Union High School District welcomes input. Email comments to lrpt@fuhsd.org or call Cindy McArthur at 408.522.2206. Information about the long-range planning is available at http://www.fuhsd.org.