Discussing education in a small room for eight hours is not the way most people would choose to spend their time on the weekend.

That’s why Niles Community Schools Supt. Dan Applegate said he was so grateful to the nearly 50 people who participated in the district’s strategic planning workshop Saturday.

“I am so impressed with the community support — with how many people showed up on a Saturday, to be there, to help drive the success of the children,” he said. “It really is impressive to see that.”

The focus of Saturday’s workshop was to come up with a vision for the district in addition to identifying the district’s goals, mission statement and belief statements.

“We were able to accomplish that,” said Applegate, adding that the results would be unveiled during the board of education’s first regular meeting in February.

A consultant, Rod Green, led the workshop by helping the diverse group work through the process.

Community leaders at the meeting included people from First Student, Lake Michigan College, Leader Publications, Mt. Calvary Baptist Church, Four Flags Area Chamber of Commerce, Niles District Library and the Niles-Buchanan YMCA. School board members, teachers, administrators and parents were also involved.

“I was impressed by the amount of stakeholder input from the community and staff as gathered through face-to-face meetings and surveys,” Green said. “The feedback gleaned from the workshop will be invaluable as we begin to implement initiatives seeking to further strengthen Niles Community Schools.”

Applegate said this workshop was just part of the district’s effort to develop a strategic plan. The superintendent said he hopes to have the plan finished in time for the start of the 2016/17 school year.

“We want to have the whole thing in place so we can start the next year running,” he said. “[A strategic plan] drives what we do. It directs where we will put our resources, our time, our money, our energy and our people.”

The district plans to hold additional community engagement sessions in the future.

“We will continue to keep the community involved,” Applegate said.