1 Leading Change through Strategic Planning Ralph J. Jasparro, Ph.D.

2 What is Strategic Planning? Strategic Planning is a process by which an organization constantly recreates itself and defines its preferred future. It involves determining priorities and anticipating and reacting to change in a proactive manner.

3 Strategic Planning Moves an Organization Through:  Understanding the external forces and changes relevant to it.  Assessing its organizational capacity to manage change.  Developing a mission, guiding beliefs, goals/objectives and vision of its preferred future.  Developing action plans that will move it from where it is to where it wants to be.  Implementing action plans developed.  Assessing progress, solving problems, and renewing plans.

4 Why Strategic Planning?  Is a straight forward process  Can be accomplished quickly  Focuses district on shared values and important goals  Is action oriented  Is a proactive planning process  Engages the community in the work of the schools Strategic Planning...

5 Strategic Planning Ground Rules  Rank and seniority are left at the door  Everyone participates equally  One person speaks at a time  Hitchhike on each other’s ideas  Share ideas freely  Keep on track  Provide constructive suggestions rather than criticisms  Consider all ideas carefully  Have fun!!

6 Strategic Thinking and Acting  Strategic thinking is knowing what to achieve, being able to justify the direction, and finding the best way to get there.  Strategic acting is being proactive and differs from being reactive to problems as they surface.

7 Phases of Strategic Planning Pre-Planning Creating the Plan Communicating the Plan Action Planning Monitoring, Implementation, & Evaluation Strategic Planning

8 Pre-PlanningPre-Planning  Form Planning Team  Select External Facilitator  Gather Resources  Train Planning Team  Establish Dates, Time, and Location for Planning Meetings

9 Environmental Scanning  External scanning aims at identifying trends and changing conditions over which the organization has little control. An analysis of the trends leads to the identification of opportunities and threats facing the organization.  Internal scanning aims at determining where the organization is and what it is capable of accomplishing. An analysis of internal trends leads to the identification of current strengths and weaknesses in the organization.

10 SWOT Analysis  Strengths -  Weaknesses -  Opportunities -  Threats -

11 Guiding Beliefs Guiding beliefs identify the core values and guiding principles that the organization believes in. Guiding beliefs are aligned with and support the mission statement.

12 Mission Identifies Why the Organization Exists  What is our purpose and function?  Who are our clients?  What do we provide for our clients? Mission statements address three questions:

13 Goals and Objectives  Goals identify key improvement results that will be attained during the next three to five years.  Objectives describe the tactics and strategies the organization will use to accomplish each goal.

14  S pecific and clear  M easurable and accountable  A ction oriented  R ealistic and doable  T ime and resource constrained SMART Goal Criteria

15 Vision Statement The vision statement presents a vivid picture of an ambitious, desirable future state that is an improvement over the current condition of the organization. It consists of a collection of images of a preferred future.

16 Communicate the Plan  Publish the Plan  Disseminate the Plan  Display Core Components of Plan  Report on Progress  Encourage Participation

17  Prioritize Goals and Objectives  Establish Action Steps  Assign Responsibilities  Set Timelines  Establish Indicators of Accomplishment  Establish Budget Action Planning

18 Monitor & Evaluate Progress  Monitor the Implementation of Action Plans  Evaluate Progress  Communicate Results  Revise Strategic Plan and Action Plans as needed

19 Aligning Planning Efforts District Strategic Plan CurriculumCurriculum TechnologYTechnologY SITTeamsSITTeams P r o f. D e v l.

20 Lessons Learned  Use an external facilitator  Include key people  Don’t be too ambitious-keep capacity in mind  Start immediately  Stay focused and keep up the momentum  Communicate often

21 Keep the Momentum Going!  Confront the present by focusing on solutions, not accusations or defensiveness.  Embrace the future by zeroing in on improving the priorities for student success.  Measure each goal and objective against advancing the mission, beliefs, and vision.  Keep the strategic planning team going by making sure it continues to represent the broader community.

22 Using The District Plan  Building or reducing budgets  Creating new programs or eliminating established programs  Planning professional development  Short circuiting personal “agendas”  Saying “No”  Saying “We don’t have the capacity to…”  Aligning with school improvement plans  Focusing on successes and accomplishments Use your district strategic plan when: