Upload
yugesh-d-panday
View
218
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
7/29/2019 Crafting Strategic Plans
1/7
7/29/2019 Crafting Strategic Plans
2/7
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
7/29/2019 Crafting Strategic Plans
3/7
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.
7/29/2019 Crafting Strategic Plans
4/7
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-
iii`iv>`
vi`V
6ISITUSONLINEAT#4"COM4ERRA.OVA
ORCALL
#OPYRIGHTBY#4"-C'RAW(ILL,,#
!LLRIGH TSRESE RVED4ERRA.OVAANDTHE4ERRA.OVALOGO
ARETRADEMARKSOF4HE-C'RAW(ILL#OMPANIES)NC
/ii`i`v/i>>L`i
viV>iiVi`>iii
i`V>iiv>ViL\
N }}>i>`>`> i*v>i
N *}>Viiii]i}>}}Vi
>>ii
N v}i>V}Vi>]i>ii
N i>}>>iii>i
+s2EADINGs,ANGUAGEs-ATHEMATICSs3CIENCEs3OCIAL3TUDIES
7/29/2019 Crafting Strategic Plans
5/7
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
7/29/2019 Crafting Strategic Plans
6/7
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.
DA
6IEWDEMOAT
!CUITY&OR3CHOOLCOMORCALL
#OPYRIGHTBY#4"-C'RAW(ILL,,#!LLRIGHTSRESERVED
!CUITYI SATRADEMARKOF4HE-C' RAW(ILL #OMPANIES) NC
/NEFORMATIVEASSESSMENTSYSTEMHASEVERYTHINGYOUNEEDTO
IMPROVESTUDENTACHIEVEMENT
$IAGNOSEPREDICTMEASUREREPORTCOMMUNICATEENGAGEANDINSTRUCT
!CUITYISTHEALLINONESOLUTIONTEACHERSNEEDTODRIVEINSTRUCTIONAND
MEASURESTUDENTPROGRESSTHROUGHOUTTHEYEAR !CUITYIMPROVESSTUDENT
ACHIEVEMENTINCORECONTENTAREASBY
s!SSESSINGSTUDENTUNDERSTANDINGOFKEYSTATECONTENTSTANDARDS
s0REDICTINGPERFORMANCEONSTATE.#,"EXAMS
s0ROVIDINGEASYTOUSEREPORTSTHATRECOMMENDSPECIlCACTIONSTO
IMPROVELEARNING
s!SSIGNINGENGAGINGINSTRUCTIONALEXERCISESBASEDONINDIVIDUAL
ANDCLASSRESULTS
s0ROVIDINGTEACHERSWITHmEXIBLEASSESSMENTCREATIONANDDELIVERYOPTIONS
-ATH2EADING,ANGUAGE!RTSAND3CIENCE'RADES
AND!LGEBRA
7/29/2019 Crafting Strategic Plans
7/7