Strategic planning, when done right, does not have to be frustrating, unproductive, costly, or divert the energies of your school’s leadership. If developed properly, the process will stimulate community support and focus resources for your school’s continued development and provide a clear competitive advantage and business model aligned to your mission and inspires your community.
The purpose of your strategic plan is to lay out a road map to achieve your mission and vision; moving away from being “reactive” – solving today’s problems – towards being “proactive” – eliminating problems in the future and taking advantage of opportunities.
Your plan should provide a framework that enables your school to focus and coordinate your resources, work towards common goals, assess and adjust as you move forward, and focus your board’s priorities and inspire your staff and community.
The planning process addresses a series of questions that examine assumptions, incorporate information about the present, and anticipate the world in which the school will be working and determine how you will get there. It asks:
1. Where is your school now?
2. Where do you want your school to be?
3. How does your school get there?
4. How does your school measure progress and know you’ve gotten to your destination?
Our planning approach results in both the “compass” and “road map” to support your school
in the development and implementation of a measurable plan to focus school improvement;
maximizing educational, operational, governance, and financial performance while linking
priorities of the Board with Senior Administration’s within an Action and Operational Plan.
The diagram below illustrates key elements of our planning process.