Planning and Oversight (Academics & Finances) “Diligent follow-up and follow-through will set you apart from the crowd and communicate excellence.” John Maxwell

Session Goals Review our progress in the Governance Strengthening Series. Provide four basic tenets of an effective strategic plan. Provide the framework for an effective governance oversight process (academics and finances) NC Office of Charter Schools

Where have we been? Effective Governance (Roles & Responsibilities) Make sure your program is successful Operational programs are faithful to the terms of its charter. Financially solvent and has a competent professional staff Strategic Goals & Accountability: Measuring What Matters The Strategic Goal is the endpoint that planners are ultimately trying to reach. Remember S.M.A.R.T. Goals Accountability begins and ends with the governing board NC Office of Charter Schools

Our Theme “Diligent follow-up and follow-through will set you apart from the crowd and communicate excellence.” John Maxwell 2014 NC Office of Charter Schools

Strategic planning contributes to overall school performance by: Establishing an understanding of the “big picture” of a school's current state, including student achievement, school environment, teacher community, parent community, and administrative issues; Reaching consensus across the school community on which needs represent the highest priorities for action based upon the potential to improve overall student and school performance; and Identifying for implementation goals and strategies, that include specific targets, indicators and milestones aligned to address the school priorities (NCDPI, 2013) NC Office of Charter Schools

Maintaining a connection between the mission, vision and strategic plan halts the tendency of making radical changes based on current fads but promotes continuity for the benefit of children and families who selected the charter school NC Office of Charter Schools

Strategic planning… is a valuable mechanism for creating collaboration within the school and developing a sense of shared purpose and collective reflection. creates an opportunity for diverse ideas, perspectives and experiences to surface from team members (Spillane & Diamond, 2007) 2014 NC Office of Charter Schools

Effective Planning Process Follow a clear process for plan development. Clarify a purpose for having a strategic plan. Identify the leadership for the creation AND leadership for the implementation of the plan. Include fidelity measures when planning strategies to ensure measurement of the execution process NC Office of Charter Schools

Step #1: Follow a clear process for plan development No single perfect way to conduct strategic planning. Limit to school’s 3-5 top priorities. Concise, easily accessible and simple to update NC Office of Charter Schools

Top Priorities When defining the top priorities (strategic areas of focus), a school community and individuals tasked with developing the plan should always consider those defined qualities and skills and identify those that merit the most attention. Those initiatives that are going well and deserve more attention and resources, as well as those initiatives that lag behind and require different strategies and thoughts NC Office of Charter Schools

Step #2: Clarify a purpose for having a strategic plan To properly instill a well-structured, educationally sound strategic plan; the team must have a reliable system and organizational buy-in to ensure the quality of the plan.  Know your purpose.  Act on your purpose.  Grow your purpose NC Office of Charter Schools

What does this look like? Reflect Identify the core outcomes of previous work. Visualize If the key leaders and stakeholders do not know where they are going, it’s time to pull the bus over. Communicate Determine the crucial – meaty, consequential, and challenging – tasks the team must interdependently tackle and communicate and recruit key stakeholders to create and implement NC Office of Charter Schools

Step 3: Identify Leadership Identify the leadership for the creation AND leadership for the implementation of the plan NC Office of Charter Schools

Creation: What does this look like? Collect & Analyze Data Strategic Stakeholder Surveys/Interviews Analyze all available data (local and statewide data) Establish Priorities/Goals Healthy discussions with diverse stakeholders to focus priorities (3-5 at the most) Develop SMART goals (one for each priority) Communicate, Communicate, Communicate To ALL levels of stakeholders. Transparent, coherent, and inspiring. Town Meetings, forums, media, follow-up correspondence 2014 NC Office of Charter Schools

Implementation A school improvement plan may be well-developed, built on relevant data, loaded with research-based strategies to improve learning, and focused on the school’s critical needs – but the plan is only as good as its execution NC Office of Charter Schools

Implementation: What does this look like? Focus on Individual Priorities Recruit and appoint focus committee(s) to plan the training, tasks and deliverables to meet the set goal. Implement Trainings Ensure all members of the staff, focus committees, and members of the board receive ongoing training to implement the strategies, tasks and deliverables, collect data, analyze data, and make decisions based on data. Communicate, Communicate, Communicate To ALL levels of stakeholders. Transparent, coherent, and inspiring (Flywheel Effect!!!) Town Meetings, forums, media, follow-up correspondence 2014 NC Office of Charter Schools

Why communicate? Starts the Flywheel Effect Jim Collins in his best-selling book, Good to Great, Shared how people desire to be part of a winning team and contribute to produce results. When [people] begin to see tangible results and can feel the flywheel start to build speed- that’s when they line up, throw their shoulders to the wheel, and push (Collins, 2001, p. 14) NC Office of Charter Schools

Questions or Comments? 2014 NC Office of Charter Schools

Step #4: Include fidelity measures to ensure measurement of the execution process. These measures should include:  specific targets  planned checkpoints  concrete data indicators and milestones to ensure board members, principals, teachers and the school improvement teams receive feedback needed to determine how well improvement strategies are working. This feedback must be utilized to make decisions about changing ineffective strategies and continuing those that work NC Office of Charter Schools

Balanced Scorecard Balanced Scorecard Training Example Training Example

Effective Oversight: What does this look like? Outcomes Based Calendar Focused Agendas Strategic Questions & Discussion Verification of the results See Leading Mission-Based Purposeful Meetings Session 2014 NC Office of Charter Schools

In Governance, the definition of the board’s role does not include: fundraising (though a board may if it wants) being an advocate for faculty and staff being controlled by a management company or strong- willed founder advising management on the best methods for achieving the school’s outcomes (curriculum, dress code, calendar, and staffing configuration). solving or resolving everyday operating challenges “helping” the executive do his or her job Carpenter, NC Office of Charter Schools Therefore it does NOT belong on the agenda or discussed during the board meeting.

Administrivia Examples (NC board meeting examples) Uniform colors Font use in handbooks Style of clothes (uniform vendors) Purchasing Toilet Paper Classroom wall colors Chair styles for offices Overflow parking Food in classrooms 2014 NC Office of Charter Schools Board’s Role is How well

Purposeful Meetings- Avoid Administrivia! The next board meeting, fold a piece of paper in half. On one half keep track of time spent on finances and student achievement. The other half, track everything else. See what percentage of the meeting is spent on Administrivia! 2014 NC Office of Charter Schools Minutes Spent on: Student achievement, Fiscal viability Minutes spent on: Everything Else

Board Meeting Content Dr. Brian Carpenter recommends a 30/30/30 model First 30 minutes, How Well are the students performing? Curriculum, programs, professional development, performance data. Second 30 minutes, Is everything occurring appropriately? Finances, legal compliance, policies Third 30 minutes, Board assessment and development. Evaluation, governance strengthening exercises 2014 NC Office of Charter Schools

Board Meeting Content (Must pertain to board purpose, and nothing else) Dr. Carpenter 80/20 principle  Small percentage of inputs generates or produces a large percentage of outcomes.  Addressing only one or two issues will produce extraordinary results Challenge to the board – Identify what those one or two issues are for each board Every minute you spend engaged in the trivial many is a minute you failed to spend discussing the vital few (Carpenter, 2007) NC Office of Charter Schools

Committee Reports Provided (7 days ahead) Focused on Mission Based Outcomes Information should directly align with the goals of organization as a whole:  School (i.e. Operations, Student Performance, Personnel)  Board (Governance, Policies, Finances, Compliance) *If it doesn’t inform the board on the Mission Based Outcomes and support the board in achieving the organization goals…It should not be discussed in the board meeting NC Office of Charter Schools

Four Essential MONTHLY Financial Reports Should be timely, accurate and comprehensible The balance sheet Demonstrates current net worth of organization Assets, liabilities and equity Cash flow statement Demonstrates all transactions for a period What comes in…and goes out Income and expense statement Makes a miniature budget for the particular period The budget versus the actual report Demonstrates whether the school is meeting goals, making a profit (cumulative) 2014 NC Office of Charter Schools

Essential Academic Reports Quarterly Academic Progress  Growth and proficiency  Grade levels and subgroups  Alternative Assessment Results (PBL, Portfolio, etc.)  Progress new initiatives or programs (implementation and effectiveness)  Teacher training and Support (Methods, practices, etc.)  Student attendance, attrition, suspension (monthly) **Just suggestions…reports should be results based and align with the strategic goals of the organization NC Office of Charter Schools

Governance Committee Presentation on Strategic Goals Balanced Scorecard Example GoalMeasurableGreenYellowRed Expansion (Governance) Expand by four members with identified prioritized skillsets X Fundraising (Development) Raise $200,000 by June 30, 2015 X New Initiatives (Academic) 100% staff professional development completion on initiatives by June 30, 2015 X Financial (Finance) Budget approved demonstrating annual 10% fund balance by June 1, 2015 X 2014 NC Office of Charter Schools Remember - Human attention – focused for 3-5 minutes!

Lead Administrator Report on Strategic Goals Balance Scorecard Example GoalMeasurableGreenYellowRed Student Enrollment Student Enrollment of 400 at Month Nine X Student Waitlist of 400 by June 1, 2015 X Personnel Retention 95% of teachers invited to return sign contracts for renewal X Financial VitalityFund balance of $100,000 or more to close fiscal year X 2014 NC Office of Charter Schools Remember, they have the full report!

Strategic Questions Academics What do these standardized test results tell us about the effectiveness of our overall education program (in terms of curriculum, teacher effectiveness and preparation)? Looking at this performance report, where are we in reaching our school’s academic goals? What programs are working for us, which need further evaluation? What trainings are we providing our teachers to ensure instructional methods are meeting the needs for ALL of our students? With our students with disabilities population increasing, what adjustments do you recommend we as a board discuss in terms of education plan, staffing, and overall budget? What does the research say in regards to our curriculum, does it align with our current population of students? 2014 NC Office of Charter Schools

Strategic Questions Mission Based What percentage of our students meet our “targeted student population” criteria laid out in the charter? What is proficiency of our students on musical instruments? What percentage of our families choose our school based on our Marine Science partnerships and programs? Have we surveyed the local businesses to see how we are preparing students for the immediate work-force? 2014 NC Office of Charter Schools

Strategic Questions Finances What is our breakdown of students per LEA, and what is the revenue schedule for each LEA? What is the historical data regarding our professional development budget line item? Are we using these funds effectively? Do you project any additional personnel to be added before the end of the school year? What is our fund balance in comparison to our overall goal? When we meet our fund balance goal, what will we be utilizing that additional funding for? 2014 NC Office of Charter Schools

Questions or Comments? 2014 NC Office of Charter Schools

To review… Develop an effective data management system that is timely, comprehensive, coherent, and provides a level of continuity to measure overtime. Ensure all members of data collection team, and members of the board receive training to collect and utilize data effectively. Communicate, communicate, communicate Effective leaders are transparent, coherent, and inspiring about the short and long term purposes and goals NC Office of Charter Schools

Let’s Review our Goals Over the past three months we know: Difference between governance and management. A goal without a plan is a wish. Your time is valuable – reports should be mission and results and presented to the board 7 days in advance. Trust but Verify!!! It is YOUR duty to ask the hard questions. The board speaks with one voice or not at all NC Office of Charter Schools

Thank you for your time “A goal without a plan is just a wish.” ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery ( ) 2014 NC Office of Charter Schools