Are Strategic Plans A Good Thing?

District Level Strategic Plans are an Attempt to Adopt a Business Practice in School Management but are they Effective?

What is interesting is that most studies have found that there is no correlation between the Strategic Plan and the improvement of student performance. Then why even go through the process?

The primary value in developing a strategic plan is how engaged the community becomes in the district. When large groups of constituents are involved in the development of the plan it fosters involvement and provides a direct way for the district to hear the concerns of the community. So the process is actually more important than the plan itself. Even more interesting, is that the process of putting together the plan usually is just the start of engaging the community in the schools.

David Conley, a professor at the University of Oregon, found that "community relations" was the top objective cited on the strategic plans he studied. While it may appear as the last item on the Park City School District plan, to my mind it should be the first. Without a comprehensive two-way dialog, the district has no idea how to respond to the needs of the stakeholders.

Most plans, like the one as PCSD, do a good job articulating the district goals to all stakeholders. Often, many groups play tug-of-war with new programs and initiatives that are implemented in the schools. Lack of direction can lead to a plethora of programs to implement and administer. This can be costly and in most cases overwhelming to the classroom teacher. Getting everyone on the same page is also a huge plus.

While the plan may focus on the future, it is important to evaluate and measure the success of existing programs. Any programs that are not effective or are too costly from the resource perspective should be eliminated. This will give breathing space for the new plans and allow the district to focus on doing a few things well rather than shotgunning problems and hoping something works.

Finally, Strategic Plans are valuable because they identify key indicators. By tracking a broad set for key indicators for each area in the plan, the district can foster an environment of continuous improvement. One of the most important indicators is the perception of quality among parents and teachers. Relying on test results alone will not provide the district the entire picture.

While Strategic Plans may not good for student achievement, it does provide a process for establishing a good dialog, setting shared goals and measuring performance.

The Power of the Computer Department

In many cases, IT departments in our schools go unchecked and unchallenged.

I’ve been working professionally in the IT field since 1980 when I was promoted from shoe salesman to mainframe computer operator at Sears.  Back then, folks in IT had a great amount of power. We had nearly an entire floor, worked on computers that cost millions of dollars, ran special reports for analysts, had access to all sorts of information and got just about anything we asked for. We were providing services for a management team that had no idea what we were doing. We could tell them just about anything and they would believe it. 

Many years later my company installed a complex document management system for the legal department at a Fortune 50 company. Our primary contact was the Legal Counsel for the company who reported directly to the CEO. He was by all accounts a respected leader, committed to the company and extremely effective. Like many C-level managers in the late 1990’s he rarely turned on his computer.  At one point, we actually pulled parts out of his computer when we needed an emergency fix another computer in the office. 

For the most part, things are different now. Corporate decision makers are more computer savvy. As a result, we are seeing better use of IT resources and decisions as to what to implement and where to innovate are made by people who are computer literate. Gone are the days when an IT person could walk into a c-suite and get approval for an initiative that management does not understand. That frustrates some IT folks that used to hold the keys to large budgets and power over a great deal of information. 

One area is lagging behind. In many cases, school board members and senior administrators have limited experience with technology. In some cases, the IT director of the school district is the only senior person at the district that understands technology and how to apply it. Many IT directors are excellent with technology, but may not have the expertise to understand how to apply that technology to best support the goals of the organization. Without anyone in senior administration or on the board with a technical background, many IT decisions go unchecked. 

I have talked to many IT directors that brag about the number of servers, number of support staff and the number of devices managed by the network.  To me, that is a red flag. They should be talking about the last time they effectively applied technology to support the goals of the organization. Sure the network should work, there should be enough staff to support the users and servers are important but from my perspective, large numbers of devices are the wrong thing to focus on. 

Each organization should have one or more senior management and board members are technologists that can work with the technology director. These folks should be familiar with technologies like VOIP, Video Conferencing, Cloud Computing,  SaaS Services, Hand Held Devices, IP Prioritization, VPN and Network Security. Most effective boards have a technology subcommittee that is made up of technologists, educators,  students, and teachers that make recommendations to the board with regard to the application of technology. 

Consider that a child starting first grade in 2010 will be entering the workforce in 2026. We should make sure that the technology implemented in school will prepare them for the environment in which they will be expected to perform.  Unlike in the early days of computing, we cannot afford to limit the decision making power to a few folks in the computer department.