Strategic Planning-From Ideas to Implementation
Strategic planning is more than just completing a plan...it's about implementing ideas with purpose and intention.
There are three components involved with our planning sessions:
- Prior to the workshop
- 2-Day Strategic Planning
- 2-Day Action Planning
Learning Intentions:
Based on the 2-day workshop, your district can expect to have a plan that takes the district’s highest aspirations and transforms the worthy plans into prescriptive directions that further the organization towards its purpose. The procedure will guide your district in strengthening its Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) including determining which actions will most likely lead to the greatest impact on student learning, employee focus and satisfaction, and community pride.
The strategic plan sets the direction for your district to make decisions. Unlike long range planning, the strategic plan clarifies the beliefs and assumptions of the district community. This leads to writing a mission statement that identifies both purpose and organizational function. Following the analysis of internal and external factors impacting decisions, a set of student outcomes and corresponding strategies are identified. To insure that the plan moves the district forward, action plan areas are identified and a calendar developed to enact the strategic plan.
A second 2-day workshop is available for districts seeking guidance and support in developing action plans. This process occurs following board support for the products of the strategic plan 2-day workshop. Action planning identifies specific high-leveraging steps that adults will do in order to implement a strategy connected with a student-learning objective.
The Package
2-Day Strategic Plan Development plus Pre-Workshop:
The strategic planning workshop set includes pre-workshop organizational meetings, stakeholder recruitment to form a planning team, and district data analysis. This is done two weeks to one month in advance of the two-day workshop.
The strategic plan workshop includes two-days of valuable and candid discussions with the planning team, a group of 10-20 district stakeholders. The planning team will identify district community beliefs, establish of a district mission, utilize a district environmental scan, and identify objectives and strategies. Either an on-site or off-site location will be needed. Refreshments and lunch are recommended for participants and are supplied by the district. Sessions will run from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. The full day schedule allows for the greatest amount of team discussions and consensus building. The workshop occurs over two consecutive days.
A board presentation is recommended following the planning workshop. This allows the board to hear what is being recommended and to approve of the strategic plan’s directions.
2-Day Action Planning:
This two-day workshop follows the strategic plan development. Action planning identifies specific tasks, mutually accountable expectations, and timelines seeking to guarantee the impact of the strategic plan. Like the earlier workshop, the two-days are full days and should occur over consecutive days. The products of the action planning workshop are clearly identified steps by adults in the district to community to move towards the district objectives and further progress towards the district mission. These plans can be used to help write a district’s LCAP or other long-range plans.
Once again, a board presentation is recommended following action plan development to build support for the team’s work.