Strategic Planning Update
by Keith Konarska, Superintendent

I t is hard to believe that we are in our second year of utiliz­ing the One Page Strategic Planning process detailed in Verne Harnish’s book, “Mastering the Rockefeller Habits.” Harnish’s streamlined process helps to connect an organization’s work, streamline priorities, and promote data driven decisions. Although the original intent of the concept was to help the busi­ness community, our leadership team quickly saw the applica­tion to our educational setting as a means of organizing and streamlining our work.

During the first year of its application, we became familiar with the concepts and considered how to best apply its terminology and structure to an educational setting. Being one of the first public entities, and most likely the first school district to apply its principles, we initially chose to use more educationally friendly terms. In other words, we started by altering some of Harnish’s own terminology promoted within the One Page Strategic Planning Process. This approach was shared with the author himself, who encouraged our creativity as we moved this planning tool into an educational setting.

After a year of application, our leadership team saw the growing potential of this tool within an educational setting and worked with local consultant Gordon Ritter to further clarify our applica­tion and to move us to the next level. As a result of this work, and with input from staff across the district, we feel that we now not only have a Strategic Plan that is fluid enough to allow for the fast-paced changes necessary to guide our district’s overall direction, but also one that allows individual school improvement planning efforts to be easily connected and aligned throughout our district.

The centerpiece of our One Page Strategic Plan is our Core Values, which reflect those qualities that staff throughout the district hold as sacred to how they do their jobs. They include: Culture of Caring, Dedicated to Success for All, Commitment to Best Practice, Professional Excellence, and High Expecta­tions for Self and Others. Our purpose is to “Provide an unsurpassed educational experience to ensure success for all students.” This is no small task, and one that we take very seriously every day. Our promise to our community is to “Provide exemplary programs and opportunities to meet the diverse needs of our students.” This organizational commitment is one on which we stake our reputation and for which we fully expect to be held accountable.

Our targets (3-5 years) developed through our board of education’s review of current research and data include the following:

• All students connected beyond the classroom.
• Provide all students with relevant learning experiences that result in success.
• Design and implement a rigorous curriculum with aligned instruction / assessment strategies.
• Develop organizational structures that support relationships and learning.

These broader over arching areas of focus are then aligned with annual district goals, thrusts, and initia­tives that interface with building and department goals available for review on our district website.

Progress reported to the board at its recent retreat included increasing numbers of students participating in co-curricular and extra-curricular activities. Data clearly showed higher performance by those students participating in choir, band, theatre, athletics, and clubs, to mention a few. The benefits of connecting relevance to the classroom was also noted through the Chamber’s Business Education Partnerships and student testimonials. Rigor was noted by a review of current instructional initiatives that included course acceleration of advanced math classes at the middle school level (Algebra I and Geometry), as well as in the recent state of Michigan AYP grades of “A” for nearly all buildings. These examples represent only part of the evidence shared with our board regarding progress within our One Page Strategic Planning process.

In the coming months, our community will be able to review the ongoing updates of our building level plans, as well as our district level focus areas, through our website. As always, we would appreciate your comments and suggestions as we continue to use this approach to help us improve our district for your children.

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