Frequently Asked Questions
What is strategic planning?
Very simply, strategic planning is the process by which an organization assesses where it is currently, sets goals for where it would like to be, and maps out a path to get there.
More specifically, it is a structured planning endeavor with the goal of setting medium- to long-term priorities for an organization and aligning resources with those priorities. The process involves representatives from all relevant stakeholder groups to collectively examine current practices and analyze environmental information to determine a set of future goals. A detailed set of decisions and actions as well as tools for measuring progress should provide the pathway to each goal.
Why is strategic planning important in school districts?
Stakeholders in a school district – students, teachers, parents, administrators and community members – can identify a set of things he or she would like to endorse or to change about the K-8 experience. Often these many priorities are in conflict with one another or cannot be met given the limited resources of a school district. A strategic planning team brings together representatives from all stakeholder groups to:
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•Become educated about current practices
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•Review the feedback and suggestions of all stakeholders
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•Analyze how environmental trends may affect the future
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•Consider the broad implications of potential objectives
This process should create a “big picture” foundation from which a team of stakeholder representatives can identify the most important strategic goals for the district. A short list of goals implies stakeholders’ consensus that certain decisions and actions are more important than others. Ideally, a strategic plan will provide the platform for district management, resource allocation, and communication with constituents over the next 3-5 years. Strategic plans can be revised to reflect unexpected changes in the environment.
It should be noted that a strategic plan is not a substitute for District leadership. It is a valuable management tool, but should not be used in lieu of good judgment. District staff and School Board members are regularly faced with issues that may not be addressed in the strategic plan.
Is this the first time District 36 has engaged in a community-wide strategic planning process?
No, it is not. From 1995-97, District 36 led a community-wide process with the goal of rewriting the District’s philosophical document: Winnetka: A Community of Learners (WACOL). The process included a community survey and a study of current practices that was directed at clarifying what educators believed about teaching and learning, whether the community understood and supported current practices, and how well the District was living by its philosophy.
The revised Winnetka: A Community of Learners document resulting from this process sets down the core beliefs for the District’s educational philosophy. During the design phase of the 2009-10 strategic planning process, the team considered whether another look at our core philosophy was necessary. We determined that WACOL was still the heart of the District’s educational philosophy and would not be revisited as part of the current strategic planning process. Rather, the goal would be to build on those core values to describe what progressive education looks like in the 21st Century.
District 36 is continuously engaged in planning, both annually and cyclically. Annual planning activities include:
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•Individual School Improvement Plans
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•District Budgets (including headcount, class size, classroom usage factors)
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•Update of long range financial plan
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•Annual prioritization of facilities maintenance
Cyclical planning processes consist of:
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•Curriculum reviews
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•Demographic forecasts
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•Negotiation of teacher contract and other staff contracts
Who is on the strategic planning team and how were they chosen?
District 36 Superintendent, Dr. Mary Herrmann assembled a team of teachers, administrators, Board of Education representatives, and community members to work with a consultant in the design phase of the project in the spring of 2009. Once the process had been defined, these team members moved on to the Strategy Development Team.
In the information-gathering phase, several members of the Winnetka Caucus joined the Team. In order to ensure a balance of representative stakeholders, additional community members were sought through an application process toward the end of 2009. Click here to see a list of all Strategy Development Team members.
What are the roles of all the people involved in Strategic Planning?
The strategic planning effort was undertaken by Superintendent Dr. Mary Herrmann at the direction of the School Board. Dr. Herrmann is the process leader and as such hires and directs all outside consultants as well as internal support staff. While two members of the School Board are on the Development Team, the full Board provides oversight.
By the end of the process, the full Development Team will have had 5-6 meetings together. The purpose of these meetings is to review data and analysis performed since the last meeting, to discuss, build consensus, and direct next steps. Between these meetings, small sub-teams (smaller groups of Development Team members with support from District staff) meet to prepare for the next meeting. During the process, there have been sub-teams to plan meeting agendas, draft surveys, analyze data, and hone priority lists. Summary notes from all these meetings can be found in this portal under the relevant team or sub-team name.
When the final strategic priorities are identified by the large team, these priorities will be delegated to “Action Planning Teams.” Action Planning Teams will be comprised of one or more members of the Development Team, District staff who work in the area(s) relevant to the goal. as well as any internal or external experts required. The Action Planning Teams will create the detailed actions, decisions, and progress measurements that will be combined into a coherent strategic planning document. The final written plan will be presented to the School Board for approval.
After the Strategic Plan is approved, District staff will begin to implement the plan under the direction of the Superintendent.
Given the logistical difficulties that such a large team presents, wouldn’t it be more efficient to get a small number of people in a room and hammer out a plan?
Yes. It would be much more efficient, but likely unsuccessful in the long run. A small group of people would not have the perspectives of all stakeholders in formulating a plan that did not involve them. Data collection and analysis would tend to be skewed toward the interests and perspectives of the small number of people in the room. Engaging a broad range of stakeholders in setting priorities allows a consensus to be built among those who might disagree on issues going in to the process. Ideally, this commitment will make the final Strategic Plan a useful, living guide as opposed to a document that sits on a shelf because it represents the thinking of only a small number of people.
Why does strategic planning take so long?
There are many reasons, starting with the logistical difficulties of finding meeting time for a large number of people who all have day jobs. Beyond that, each step of the process requires a lot of work outside of formal meeting times:
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•Designing process steps and agendas
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•Creating tools for data collection
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•Data collection
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•Data analysis
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•Collation of materials for Team
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•Communication with Team and Community
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•Writing of the final document
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•Review of final document by Team and Board
In addition, strategic planning should be a creative process, and as such, will not be linear and predictable at every stage. New data, fresh analysis, or innovative ideas can alter the process path.
The original estimate of strategic planning time from design to end product was 13 months. This has slipped some due to logistical and data difficulties. Currently, it is estimated that the plan will be submitted for Board approval in the fall of 2010. Click here to view process steps and time associated with each.
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