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Compass PD Podcast with Dr. Carrie Hepburn
Compass PD Podcast with Dr. Carrie Hepburn
Compass PD Episode 37: Delving into What is Strategic Planning Pt. 2
Prepare to unlock the secrets of strategic planning in school districts as Dr. Carrie Hepburn and Dr. Chris Greiner delve into the importance of this fundamental process. This is no mere administrative task; strategic planning is the key to continuous improvement, driving success, and, most importantly, equipping students with the skills they need for their future. We promise you a wealth of information and insights as we tackle how "all means all" and the unique methods of supporting every student's learning pace.
Guest expert, Dr. Greiner, joins us to delve further into the planning process, simplifying the steps to developing an effective strategic plan. He shares invaluable tips on engaging the community, monitoring progress, and making necessary adjustments over time. Get ready as we unravel the mystery of how strategic planning can provide a return on investment for school districts and bring to life big dreams for staff, schools, and students. This is your opportunity to understand how strategic planning can transform your district and guarantee a brighter future for your students.
If you missed the first part of this conversation, check out Episode 34: Delving into What is Strategic Planning Pt. 1.
Hello, hello, hello. Dr Carrie Hepburn here from Compass PD and I am excited to share with you part two of the strategic planning conversation that I had with Dr Greiner recently. The part one episode, which is episode 34, delving into what is strategic planning, is quickly becoming one of our most popular episodes that's been downloaded. I am excited for you to hear the rest of this conversation. Just a quick reminder of Dr Greiner in part one talked to us about what is a strategic plan and, in short, the most basic form. He talks about how a strategic plan is a promise that a school district makes to its community, to all members within the community. He talks about how a strategic plan is developed keeping in mind all of the stakeholders within that community School board members, teachers, students, community members, volunteers and those that are serving within the district. So I'm excited to share with you the rest of this conversation. Tune in and I can't wait to hear what you think about that. So, as we dig deeper into strategic planning, why does a district need a strategic plan?
Speaker 2:Well, again, I think, first and foremost, it represents an opportunity to get better. So that commitment to continuous improvement is front and center of the why, as a district develops their mission, vision and values. Really keying in on that vision, most districts if you were to get on their website and look at their vision statement most districts talk about the idea of every student graduating with college, career and life readiness skills. Those are terms that are synonymous with district vision statements. And they should be, because that is truly what we are about as a school district is meeting students' needs, ensuring that they're ready for what's next.
Speaker 2:Whether it is a student going from third to fourth grade, we want to ensure that that student has access to on grade level instruction. We want to ensure that that student has had supports in place to meet their academic or social emotional needs. We want to get that student ready for fourth grade, just like we want to get that student ready who's a senior in high school, ready for what's next after graduation. And so, again, the why behind a district meeting with strategic plan is based on continuous improvement. How will we continue to push, to move the organization forward, to get closer to that vision of every student being ready for what's next. So again, I think that really is, first and foremost, the why is that is the spirit of our work. We all should be coming to work every day with that burning desire, that need to make a difference, to help young people get better and to get them prepared for what's next.
Speaker 1:Again, even if.
Speaker 2:I'm a preschool teacher. I'm getting that kid ready for kindergarten. I'm a fifth grade teacher. I want to get that student ready for middle school and on up. So it really isn't just about what happens in high school, it is a pre-K and early childhood through senior year and high school commitment and there are lots of layers and pieces and supports that go into that 13-year journey and not every kid is going to experience that all in one school district. We know, with mobility and just the nature of you know family, they're going to be moving around and that's fine. But as we welcome the student into our district, we're going to see when that is. We want to get them ready for what's next, whether that's the next grade level, the next level, you know, elementary, middle, high or beyond, and so, again, that continues improvement commitment is front and center.
Speaker 2:Another ancillary need for strategic plan again is to is to meet those state accreditation expectations. Each state has specific requirements regarding accreditation and so, being very mindful of that and intentional to yes, we want to ensure that all of our kids are successful, but also there are things that our state requires from us and those. How do we balance those? And many times the expectations of our State Department align very nicely with what a district really thinks about how we're getting kids ready for what's next.
Speaker 2:But but sometimes there are some things that maybe don't always fit in what we would consider to be a educational strategic plan. For example, there may be some financial expectations from the disk, from the state to the district, based on where that particular school districts economic health is at that moment. You know their fund balance or their way in which their audits have come back. So there are some unique things that districts can include that meet state accreditation expectations. Districts can't be. They have to be cognizant of that as well. So I would say, really from my experience, the why behind a strategic plan is really twofold continuous improvement and also maintaining accreditation, and there are two of the big driving forces behind why a district needs a strategic plan.
Speaker 1:I hear that there's, like this, urgency and importance to this work, the work that's happening in our schools and and I feel like that is communicated via the strategic plan that the work that we're doing is important and that we don't have any time to waste. But I would say, like we're getting every student this is for every kid when they walk out of our our, out of our school districts or out of our classrooms, that we want all of them to be ready for their next level of, whatever that may happen. I think that that that's really important for people to to recognize.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know, all means all. I think historically we've maybe we've maybe put those words and the paper and not intentionally, but hasn't meant that it when we say all kids, you know we'll leave our school district ready for what's next. Many times we're you know, we're talking about our kids that are college back. The number of districts, percentages of students that are heading to a two or four year university is less than 30%, and so we, you know again we being being the distance school districts. When we talk about all means all, that has some implications for our work that I think many school districts have room to grow in being effective with things like timely and systematic academic and social, emotional interventions, because not all of our kids learn at the same pace and not all of our kids have the same needs, and so we really think about all means all.
Speaker 2:But I have not ever run across a district vision statement that says we in in this district will work to ensure that 30% of our students get to college and are successful.
Speaker 2:No one would ever say that we're sign off on that as a visit, as a vision statement, but the reality is that's what's happening in many school districts is that students are not graduating, and so those who graduate, do graduate, are not prepared for what's next, whether that is college, entering the workforce, heading to the military, whatever that next is. They lack the plan, they lack the credentials, the experiences, and that process of getting them prepared for what's next begins an early childhood, and so we think about how do we get that vision statement to be effective? How are we, how do we ensure that every student, when we write that down as a vision statement but there is likely not a school district anywhere that can say that 100% of their kids We've ensured that every student is ready? How do we get closer to that preferred future? And it's something that we will continue to chase throughout, you know, our, our time, and in that, in that district, we are all on the move. Pursuing that all means all.
Speaker 1:Thank you. Campus PD, our organization, talks a lot about predictable problems. What are some predictable problems? A strategic plan overcomes.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So you know, for me, at the top of the list is initiative overload. So many districts, as they develop, a strategic plan becomes a list of to do is that becomes a burden on top of the work that they're already doing to manage the day to day. So one of the predictable problems of a strategic plan is that it's asking too much of an organization too soon. And one of the great things about being intentional and strategic with the plan is that it limits, or should limit, the number of initiatives you are chasing as a school district and also should address the pace of change. There are many things that a school district could identify as high priority to achieve in the next three to five years. So one of the more important things a school district says to themselves is these are things that we commit to doing, but then also these are things that we commit to stop doing, or these are the things that we commit to do in an order that is more manageable. So there may be, for example, a goal within a strategic plan around community engagement. That specific plan or project within a strategic plan may not begin until year three or a year four of that five year long term plan. So it's important to understand that all of the things that we want to do as a school district district to get better, can't all happen at once, and the type of change we are asking from the organization, the pace, has to be appropriate. So those are things again that are very unique to each district.
Speaker 2:The size of the district, you know, the number of people that are capable of championing these projects that live within a strategic plan, obviously a smaller school district and organization that has fewer employees, an organization that may have, you know, maybe it's a school district that only has a few schools, maybe there's one elementary school and there's one secondary campus, or even a district that has one K 12 campus, so there are, there is the ability to manage the change, and so I think initiative overload is a predictable problem. The pace of change is a predictable problem, and then just the ability to progress, monitor and support those, those projects that live inside the larger plan, is another predictable problem, and one of the benefits of having someone there to coach a school district through the process is also someone that's there to help solve some of these predictable problems and provide ongoing support and coaching. And so those districts that really thrive with a strategic plan, they have a thought partner. Many times a thought partner that is exists outside of the school district, that can come in and really be objective and think critically but also maybe aren't impacted or influenced in a way that living inside a school district.
Speaker 2:It's a different field. So I think having that, that, that thought partner, that coach that can come in and and work, help with a district, work through a plan and really reflect and ask questions, gather resources, do some of the work in the weeds that a school district may be too busy to accomplish Again, I think that's a predictable problem is that when the school district decides to manage their strategic plan, to build, implement and manage a strategic plan on their own, and so I think that struggles to execute at a high level because they, the school district, struggles to hold themselves accountable to the plan they've developed. And so I think those are some of the predictable problems that I've noticed in my own experience, both as an internal stakeholder and as someone that can be a objective thought partner that can come in and really coach with a district through that strategic planning, not only developing the plan but then also executing the plan over a period of years.
Speaker 1:And I think what we see a lot are that there are so many initiatives happening in a district that everyone's confused and overwhelmed and nothing's being done well. And if you ask the follow up question what's in your strategic plan? There's typically not a strategic plan in place or one that's been visited in 10 plus years. So it it really does help them limit and narrow their focus so that they can do something really well and be excellent at it and feel success and see the impact on learning for all.
Speaker 1:And I think when you were talking about that pace of change I kept thinking about it sounds like a scope and sequence, like over a period of time. You can almost develop a scope and sequence like we do in curriculum, where you're scaffolding, getting to hit all of those big goals that are in the strategic plan and make sure that the foundation is laid before you get to some of those bigger goals that might be happening later, a few years into the strategic planning. And I do think that monitoring of the work, being able to progress, monitor and have a thought partner and somebody who can be an outsider and ask questions that cause reflection or help us see gaps is really critical and it does help you grow and holds you accountable as a district that somebody's coming in, they're going to be seeing. Have we been monitoring? Have we been committing? Have we been doing the actions that we need to commit to in order to be able to achieve these big things that are in our strategic plan? There's something about accountability that really helps us be successful in this work.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I agree, and also to just creates the flexibility to pivot and make and evolve the plan as you go. You develop a plan, of course, and you have goals and action plans, but things change and also, I think, some of the predictable problems. Districts kind of get stuck in that fixed mindset of, well, this was the goal we set three years ago around this, but things may have changed. You know, pandemic being exhibit, a of how we as school districts needed to pivot instructional delivery, how we were supporting kids in a, you know, in a virtual environment. That really accelerated a lot of the tech integration initiatives that districts were kind of find themselves in and I think where that's led us to.
Speaker 2:You know, three or four years ago, as districts districts for developing strategic plans they're probably they were supporting many plans that talked about the role of artificial intelligence and how they were supporting student learning, how districts would partner with AI tools. Well, that's front and center right now. But it's having a predictable problem with a strategic plan. Also, is it not being so fixed that we have the ability to revisit the plan and make adjustments based on what our current reality is now, three or four years later than when we set down to write the plan. So yeah, all of those things. So having that partner that can sort of keep their eye on and here's what we're noticing are national trends, here's what research is telling us it's great to have that somebody that can come in and really partner with a school district, because the school district again, they are focused on managing the whirlwind and they need to keep an eye on, on the strategic plan and where it's going.
Speaker 2:But having that accountability partner is really important and I found that districts that have that coach, that that guide, on the side really helps them accomplish more of their strategic plan and really be mindful of how they need to evolve, versus when it's left for them to figure out. It just gets buried in an avalanche of the day to day.
Speaker 1:You know, like that could be a posted or like a little sign that's like don't let that happen. It's easy to let that happen. So thank you for highlighting that, Something that we always get asked. Every time we sit down with a district and we have a conversation, they're like how quick can you do this? How long is this going to take? So I know this will be a question of those who are listening. They want to know how long will it take to develop a strategic plan.
Speaker 2:So my experience has been really the strategic plan. Anybody you know a district leadership team or pulling a committee together and writing a plan. You know in a month or two you could do that, you could do that. The problem with that is is that it really doesn't represent your community, and so being intentional not only assessing your current reality, acknowledging what's working, identifying things that we want to get better at that really is more than just district employees coming together. So community engagement is really at the heart of this work and it just takes time to engage your community in a way that's meaningful. So some of the things that happen, beyond assessing your current reality, which we can pull data together quickly Most districts have report cards.
Speaker 2:They have dashboards that they're monitoring. Those things aren't difficult. But it's the stories, it's the cultural things, those are the things that take conversation, that take really a commitment of time. And so tools like community engagement, surveys, focus groups, where we're pulling in staff, we're pulling in students, we're pulling in community, we're pulling in local business that is a process that takes time and for many districts it becomes a burden when they are asked to do that work on top of their day-to-day jobs. And so, again, just to say, if it's a partnering with a facilitator or a coach, is they take that lift away and are able to come in and facilitate those conversations, provide resources that districts can edit and really customize to fit the needs of their district. But again, that community engagement, I would contend, is probably the most time consuming, but it is well worth that investment in time. And so that community engagement then leads you to a conversation around mission, vision and values, developing those narratives. There's iterations of what those statements look like. Obviously there are some committees that would come together to help watch those conversations. Those narratives then lead you to identify priorities and goals, to develop specific action plans. It's important that there are iterations of feedback along the way so we're not just simply gonna have the conversation with the community at the beginning. We wanna come back and check in how are we doing? Does this look like we're on the right track? So those iterations of feedback are important. You then wanna prepare for that launch of your strategic plan. You have to be very intentional around that.
Speaker 2:Typically, a district would wanna launch that strategic plan that coincides with the beginning of the school year. So it's kind of aging that work in a way that helps you launch it at a time that's appropriate. When we're bringing stakeholders together for those open house conversations, for those opportunities for the meet the teacher nights, for all of the sort of traditional engagement, we now can include some conversations around our strategic plan. Obviously now in social media we wanna look at how we're using our socials, how we're engaging our stakeholders through our website. So all of that typically is gonna take at least six to nine months.
Speaker 2:If done thoughtfully, intentionally, could it go faster than that? Yes, could it take longer? Depending on the needs of the school district, it could. There are districts that are maybe struggling through some toxic culture. There's been an abrupt shift in leadership, there's changes on the board of education, there's community distrust of a school district and so there are conversations that we would wanna bring and be very intentional to bring in as many stakeholders, and so that might take more time because we wanna be that intentional and transparent.
Speaker 2:So really depends on the school district but I would say typically it's a process that lasts at least six months Typically 69. But really is based on the needs of the district and kind of where are they From a current reality standpoint. If they're coming off the heels of a really successful strategic plan Prior to this new 2.0. That process might move quicker. If they have a committee system, if they have ways in which they're already engaging their community in meaningful ways, we you can plug right into those structures. It might be a quicker process. But I would say most districts need that time to really understand what is it that our community wants to see and how do we engage all of our stakeholders, from students All the way up to, you know, community partners, business partners, staff, parents we want to make that process?
Speaker 1:Yes, and I think 1 of the things about taking that time to do that community engagement with those focus groups is it allows Each of them to dream about what do we want for our schools, what do we want for our students?
Speaker 1:Our schools are the heart, heart of our communities and that that is a lot of the community happens at school. And so bringing all of the stakeholders together to dream together about what does education look like in our district, when we gather feedback and listen to stories and conversations, and then people see that reflected in the, the strategic plan and the work that we're doing, they see that we we value their voice. They're more apt to support us when we need things like bonds and we need tax increases, those kinds of things, or we need help in the school, or we want, you know, opportunities for our students to have internships within our community. All those things are are beneficial. Another thing that I heard is in six to nine months there's still time for a district that maybe doesn't have a strategic plan right now for them to have it Started and completed before school starts next year.
Speaker 2:Yes, there's.
Speaker 1:I think that that's something that hopefully people hear. It's not like you're too late, so there's still time for you to get started on this work, do it well and and have it ready for the next school year, I think. For those who are excited to learn more, can you give them a teaser of what you're going to be sharing in our next discussion?
Speaker 2:Sure. So, as I mentioned at the beginning, developing a strategic plan is an investment. It's focused change management and it is a heavy lift. It creates a lot of cognitive dissonance for adults. But really the hard work of a strategic plan comes after you've written it, because it's not worth the paper you printed out on If you're not taking action and you're not Creating a cadence of accountability around the work and that should ideally permeate itself through all layers of the organization.
Speaker 2:So some things I'd like to talk about is, practically, how do you progress, monitor a strategic plan? What are some tools that a school district, a district leader, might use? And then also, how do you see this type of work, a strategic plan that sort of seen as kind of this balcony level. Dream of where we're going as a school district. How does it actually get to the classroom level? How does it get to the student level?
Speaker 2:This is not necessarily how we're going to buy new things or build new things, although those things, those types of priorities, could be be part of a strategic plan. I think Part of the discussion is how do you make a strategic plan and really become a living document that impacts day to day what classrooms are doing again all the way down to the early childhood level. That's a challenge for school districts Once they've developed the plan is how do you execute it Well and how does it really become part of the day to day work, and so I'd like to share some examples of how that could look and how district and building leaders might use some structures to help ensure that. Once they've developed a strategic plan, how are we really getting that return on investment? How are we able to monitor and evaluate and adjust implementation over time?
Speaker 1:I can't, I can't wait. I can't wait to learn more from you about this process. I know that this this entire conversation regarding what is a strategic plan, how do you get started in this work it's going to be really beneficial for many leaders out there. So thank you so much, chris, for sharing your expertise and your experience with us. We really really appreciate it. I also want to let everyone know that Compass PD does help districts develop their strategic plan, so this isn't work that you have to consider or think about doing all on your own. We have coaches that can come in and support you as you do this important work of building strategic plans, to guide and lead your district, and know that there's still time that you can call us. We can sit down and have a conversation and get started helping you and your community reach those big dreams for your, your staff and your school and your students. So thank you everyone and have a great day.