Crafting Strategic Plans

7/29/2019 Crafting Strategic Plans

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Key principles to enhance K12 leadership

BY KEVIN BULER

CRAFTING

StrategicPlans

EDUCAION LEADERS KNOW

how to work hard, but how can they learn

to work smarter and to lead better? Tere

are bookshelves full of works on leader-ship based on the lives of luminaries rang-

ing from Sun zu, a Chinese general who

wrote Te Art of War, and General Patton

to Machiavelli and Lincoln.

Although they offer inspiration, such

works dont give a leader the research

applications and practices they need to

be effective, says Douglas Reeves, who

works with district offi cials on leadership

strategies as founder of the Leadership and

Learning Center in Colorado.

So how do you move beyond apho-

risms and use research-based instruction to

help transform your departments, schools

and classrooms in the ever-more-complex

universe of education?Reeves says that some simple principles

can help K12 leaders more effectively cre-

ate and communicate goals to staff and

improve accountability.

Utilizing his own data and observa-

tions, as well as others academic research

in business and education issues, Reeves,

who has published 20 books on leadership

and accountability, says districts should

concentrate on narrowing goals, measur-

ing outcomes and communicating outside

traditional, hierarchical structures.

Peter Flynn, superintendent of the Freeport(Ill.) School District 145, works after schoolwith parents, central offi ce administratorsand teachers on the districts strategic plan.

During Career Day at Jewel Elemen-tary School at Aurora (Colo.) PublicSchools recently, Superintendent JohnBarry was one of the professionals sharingideas about career choices with students.

LEADERSHIP

Leaders arent born, they are made. Andthey are made just like anything else

through hard work. Vince Lombardi, football coach


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Narrow Goals

Reeves first rule about setting goals is this:

Dont set too many.Each year, many district administrators

go through a strategic planning process,

sometimes ending up with a thick docu-

ment in a three-ring binder containing

more than 100 goals, says Reeves. Focus-

ing on so many goals at once dilutes atten-

tion and time, he says.

He cites research by John P. Kotter of

Harvard Business School showing that

most business strategic plans are never

implemented. Education is no different,

Reeves says.

Tere is no evidence that says these

multiple three-ring binders with hundreds

of goals are associated with improved per-

formance, he says.

Just how concise can a strategic plan

be? Te Freeport (Ill.) School District 145

has fit its strategic plan on one page. Tis

plan-on-a-page document, updated an-

nually in partnership with community

members, can easily be kept by employ-

ees for quick reference, says Peter Flynn,superintendent of the 4,200-student dis-

trict in the northwest corner of the state.

It tends to be a document that is used a

lot, Flynn says. If you ask staff members

throughout our district, they can tell you

about plan-on-a-page.

Te document is divided into four

strategic areas, called visions, that are

crafted with community input gained at

a town hall meeting: human resources,

partnerships, equity and student perfor-

mance. Te district administrators craft

goals and measures for each of the vision

areas, focusing on concrete objectives,

such as numeric targets for test scores,

course of the year.

For example, one objective on the

districts strategic plan is to close the

achievement gap in high schools by June

2014. oward this end, the district aims

to have 63 percent of black high school

students meet or exceed the states read-

ing and math standards. Last year, only

33 percent of such students met state

standards in reading, and even less did

so in math in part due to the fact thatstudents were not required to take three

years of math. Students who took only

two years of math did not take it in their

junior year, which is when the state test

is administered.

One action plan tied to such a goal

calls for counselors and other stakehold-

ers to aggressively recruit minorities and

low-income students into higher-level

and more challenging courses.

Vision leaders report their progress to

a strategic planning committee, which

student participation rates or satisfaction

surveys of students, parents, community

members and staff.

Such objectives are placed on the doc-

ument next to another column of action

plans, or specific steps the district plans

to take to meet each goal and objective.

Districts can ensure that such a plan

is implemented and doesnt collect dust

in a desk drawer by selecting a vision

leader for each of the four areas, which

Freeports district does. Te vision lead-

ers each chair a committee that oversees

its aspect of the strategic plan over the

There is no evidence that says these multiple three-ring binders with hundreds of goals are associatedwith improved performance.

Douglas Reeves, founder, Leadership and Learning Center

On Superintendent Barrys first day on the job in July 2006, he kicked off a90 DayListening Tour and visited Aurora Central High School, where he helped a student prepare

for a test. During the tour, Barry described his districtwide vision to staff, students, parentsand community members.


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includes the superintendent, a school

board member, teachers, a principal and

other staff members. Te committee de-termines whether or not the district is

making progress and can recommend to

the school board changes in goals or ac-

tion plans for the following year.

Te one-page plan gives the district

a more targeted and simplified focus, as

well as a vital framework to help offi cials

set priorities, Flynn says. When people

approach the district asking for funding

for particular projects or programs, the

document allows district offi cials to ask,

How does this promote your plan-on-

a-page? explains Flynn. Tat helps us

align our priorities.

Flynn says that having more focused

goals is important, although the one-

page format is not a one-size-fits-all ap-

proach. A district can have a narrowly

focused plan that is more than one page.

Te Freeport district has attached a one-

page appendix to its plan in the past.

Te point is to have a set of clear, con-

cise goals and objectives with which toguide the districts decision making.

Inform the Community

A narrow focus wont help district lead-

ers without the development of powerful

communication strategies that go be-

yond traditional, hierarchical organiza-

tion structures, Reeves says.

John Barry, superintendent of Aurora

(Colo.) Public Schools which has 37 per-

cent of its students speaking foreign lan-

guages, compares the top-down dissemi-nation of a leaders messages to a leaking

bag of sand being passed down from

one rung of the administrative ladder to

the next. By the time it reaches the bot-

tom, there is nothing left in the bag, says

Barry, who has worked with Reeves for

nearly two years on issues such as leader-

ship and data decision making.

Tats why district leaders have to

communicate with different audiences.

Its tough to get the word out from the

vantage point of a bureaucratic, hier-

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Leadership ToolsGood communication and narrow goals arent the only tools an outstanding

leader needs. Douglas Reeves, founder of the Leadership and Learning

Center, offers some insights.

Youre not perfect.Its a myth that a great leader excels in every area. Everyone is stronger in

some areas than in others. The key for a leader is to build a leadership team

of people who excel in the areas in which you are weak. Instead of hiring a

clone of yourself, hire somebody who is quite different from you,

Reeves says.

Monitor, monitor, monitor.Research shows that ongoing and frequent monitoring of internal

assessments and other student performance data is vital for determining if

you are making progress. With such monitoring, you can see whats working,

whats not, and adjust, rather than waiting until the end of the academic year

to see if goals have been met. The monitoring is directly related to student

achievement, Reeves says.

A little bit goes a very short way.A little implementation gets you very little improvement, and moderate

implementation gets you only a little more than that. Its only when you

have implementation at a very high level that you have an impact on student

achievement, Reeves says.

Look for the superhubs.Superhubs are teachers or employees, sometimes unknown to the

management hierarchy, to whom other employees go to seek advice.

Although they may fly under the radar from managements perspective,

employees know who they are. And they may not be seen as leaders in the

school. When launching new initiatives, consider bringing superhubs into

the loop to help reinforce the change.

Beware of the toxic 2 percent.Surveys of teachers who are confronted with new initiatives show that about

17 percent intend to lead the initiative and 53 percent are ready to follow the

leaders. About 28 percent are fence sitters. The remaining toxic 2 percent

are categorically opposed to change and are just plain jerks, Reeves says.

Instead of wasting time arguing with this group, support those who are

onboard and try to win over the fence sitters.

archical scale, says Barry, whose district

is in an eastern suburb of Denver.

Barrys approach involves setting upmultichannel communication venues to

disseminate messages about school affairs

and district plans and get feedback from

employees and community members.

Te district holds four town hall

meetings each academic year, which fo-

cus on topics such as the districts stra-

tegic plan, where community members

can ask questions or express concerns

and get feedback.

In another effort to reach out to

community members, Barry formed a

Superintendents Guidance Council,

which is comprised of community lead-

ers and organizations, including the Au-

rora city manager, the head of the local

community college, the local chamber of

commerce, religious leaders and various

ethnic organizations.

Communicating Within

As part of a communication strategy

within the district, Barry holds threesuperintendents forums each semester,

each with a different audience: teachers,

teachers union representatives and a stu-

dent advisory council.

Te key to such forums is to ensure

wide participation. Although venues

allow for the exchange of ideas, some

participants may not feel comfortable

speaking in front of others, Barry says.

o reach out to those who are more

reticent, the district once a month holds

Internet chat room sessions in whichteachers and students can share their

views anonymously on topics. You get

what they really think, he says.

As a result of one student chat room,

the district learned that school adminis-

trators were not equally enforcing poli-

cies on the use of cell phones and iPods

on campus, which are not to be seen,

heard or used during the school day.

Te district took action to ensure that

schools were uniformly enforcing the pol-

icy. Getting information like that from


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those in the trenches, whether students

or teachers, is key, Barry says.

Creating an environment in whichpeople feel free to express ideas and not

fear ridicule is important, says Barry,

who also emphazies that theres no

dumb idea. For example, to solicit ideas

on trimming costs, the district last Sep-

tember began a program to financially

reward staff members who devise money-

saving ideas that are implemented.

Tats a wise investment, says Barry,

whose district is reviewing several ideas

submitted as part of the program.

Finding creative ways to get feedback

is also vital, Reeves says. After all, no

leader has all the answers. Its not about

making an inspirational speech, but about

listening as much or more than the leader

talks, he says.

And Barry believes that leaders need to

keep their ears on the ground and eyes on

the future. Tey need to be just as aware

of the everyday classroom developments

in schools as they are of the high-level, ad-

ministrative strategic plans that guide thedistricts overall direction.

In any bureaucracy, leaders must be

connected to where the core competencies

are being worked everyday, Barry says.

In K12, thats the classroom.

Buying Into Benefits

Ultimately, leaders dont effect change

by giving inspirating speeches or dis-

tributing stern memoranda, Reeves says.

eachers and staff bring about change by

seeing and buying into the benefits ofnew initiatives.

Tey change after having the oppor-

tunity to observe effective practices and

observe the impact of those practices on

student achievement, Reeves adds. Our

role as leaders and as professional devel-

opers should be to create opportunities

for those observations, not just tell peo-

ple what to do.

Kevin Butler is a contributing writer.

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Crafting Strategic Plans