Strategic Plan
Strategic Planning: What is it?
Strategic planning is a management tool. As with any management tool, it is used for one purpose only: to help an organization do a better job - to focus its energy, to ensure that members of the organization are working toward the same goals, to assess and adjust the organization's direction in response to a changing environment. In short, strategic planning is a disciplined effort to produce fundamental decisions and actions that shape and guide what an organization is, what it does, and why it does it, with a focus on the future. (Adapted from Bryson's Strategic Planning in Public and Nonprofit Organizations)
Strategic Plan: What is it?
A strategic plan is a document that summarizes, why an organization exists, what it is trying to accomplish, and how it will go about doing so.
Strategic Planning Assessment: What did we do?
The overall objective of the assessment was to provide the administration of Marietta City Schools, the School Board and other key stakeholders with an understanding of
(1) how well the district fulfills its mission,
(2) the areas/issues that are educational priorities, and
(3) the system’s performance on measures of success.
Strategic Planning Process: How did we do it?
Highlights of the process include:
- A comprehensive community engagement component to allow stakeholders to have a voice in the strategic improvement planning process,
- A diverse planning team that represented stakeholder groups to develop the plan,
- A facilitated planning process that assisted the planning and action teams in analyzing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the school district and developing/defining the mission, vision, beliefs, goal areas and elements of the strategic improvement plan,
- A facilitated process to work with experts within the district and community on developing initiatives and action steps to implement the plan.
Strategic Planning Outcomes: Four Goal Areas
- Student Achievement
- Safe & Supportive Learning Environment
- Communication & Engagement
- High Quality Workforce
Student Achievement
Goal Area Priorities: To increase student mastery of curriculum, to increase the high school graduation rate, to ensure systemic instructional & assessment practices, and to increase the number of students who exceed standards.
Safe & Supportive Learning Environment
Goal Area Priorities: To improve systemic utilization of resources, to promote proactive practices that support students and staff, and to enhance organization processes.
Communication & Engagement
Goal Area Priorities: To improve the effectiveness of communication to core audiences (internal & external), to increase school-level parental and community engagement, and to enhance communications among employees (district and school level).
High Quality Workforce
Goal Area Priorities: To sustain a quality workforce, to provide relevant professional development for all staff, and to ensure effective evaluation and compensation processes.
