In spring 2026, the Monroe County Community School Corporation (MCCSC) Strong Schools, Strong Community Advisory Council brought together a short-term advisory group of approximately 40 community members, business and civic leaders, teachers, support staff, families, MCCSC Board members, administrators, and students. The council’s work focused on the shared goal of sustaining excellence in MCCSC schools to attract families and accelerate community growth. A community survey option allowed the public to provide input on the same areas discussed by the council.
Together, the council drafted several proposals to help sustain excellence and enhance student opportunities in MCCSC schools by leveraging community partnerships. The various proposals focus on six areas: internships and career connections, mentorship and student belonging, college and career readiness, student support systems, closing achievement gaps, and student enrollment/community attraction.
MCCSC leadership is currently reviewing the proposals and will bring council volunteers back together in fall 2026 to turn proposals into plans that will be implemented.
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Meeting 1 Summary: MCCSC leadership and community partners shared information to develop a shared understanding of the pressures facing MCCSC, including state funding, enrollment trends, and the progress of the 2-Year Strategy to Achieve Financial Balance. Council members also heard from representatives from the City of Bloomington (Jane Kupersmith) and Amplify Bloomington (Ravi Bhatt) on the connection between strong schools, community attractiveness, and economic growth. Council members then used the S.O.A.R framework to identify the Strengths of MCCSC and the community, Opportunities to expand on strengths, Aspirations for MCCSC and the community, and to define Results of what the council hoped to achieve through MCCSC-community partnerships. A public survey collected public input on these same four areas.
Meeting 2 Summary: The focus of the meeting was to develop pillars to guide MCCSC in sustaining excellence in MCCSC schools by leveraging community partnerships. The council worked in groups to draft pillars based on MCCSC core values and the Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations and the Results identified in Meeting 1 and from the public survey. The council discussed each of the four areas to identify common themes.
Meeting 3 Summary: Council groups drafted proposals to strengthen MCCSC schools through community partnerships, guided by four pillars that emerged from Meeting 2:
- Connected Community Partnerships
- Student Readiness & Real-World Opportunity
- Teacher & Staff Empowerment Through Community Connections
- Bloomington as a First-Choice Community
To draft the proposals, the council groups combined a community pillar with one of the six focus areas from the Results from Meeting 1 and the public survey: internships and career connections, mentorship and student belonging, college and career readiness, student support systems, closing achievement gaps, and student enrollment/community attraction. For each proposal, council members outlined the vision, what support would be needed, existing resources, and what success would look like.
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MCCSC extends its sincere thanks to all community members who gave their time and care to the council discussions.