Strategic Planning Workshop for School Heads

1. Strategic Planning

2. Advance Organizer
• Definition of the strategic plan
• Creating a strategic plan
• Framework in organizational planning

3. Strategic Planning
• What is strategic planning?
• Why we do strategic planning?
• Characteristics of a good strategic plan
• Who should do it?

4. Strategic Planning
• Process of defining strategy, or direction, and
making decisions on allocating resources to
pursue this strategy, including its capital and
people.
• Process to establish priorities, on what the
school division will accomplish in the school
year.
• The school division and district develop the
choices on what, it will do and it will not do.

5. Strategic Planning
What Is A Strategic Plan?
 Is a road map or course of action for achieving
desired results;
 Should be laid out before the first steps are taken;
 Is typically developed by committee; and
 Plays a vital role in seeking funding.

6. Why strategic planning?
• Planning: If you fail to plan, you plan to fail! Be
proactive about the future.
• Performance: Strategic planning improves
performance.
• Reliability: Counter excessive inward and
short-term thinking.
• Solve major issues at a macro level.
• Communicate to everyone what is most
important.

7. A good strategic plan should:

8. Who should do it?
• Regional Director
• Schools Divisions’ Superintendent
• District Supervisor
• School Heads

9. Strategic Planning
Where Do I Begin?
 Work with designated members to decide the future of the
organization;
 Get inside the members’ minds and know what they are really
thinking and want; and
 Do a survey or task representatives to bring the knowledge to
the table.

10. Strategic Planning
How Do I Get Others On Board?
 Start early by speaking to designated participants
who will have input into the decision-making
process;
 Share reports and other objective data with the
committee;
 Divorce personalities from the discussion; and
 Position the strategic plan as neutral and truthful
based on member’s feedback.

11. Strategic Planning
Tips for Effective Strategic Plans!
 Work in a neutral environment;
 Allow time for group interaction:
 In the form of a group activity
 Build a sense of teamwork and create an
environment where laughter and conversation flow
freely.
 Eliminate distractions; and
 Develop a plan with clear action items.

12. Strategic Planning Process

13. Steps
• STEP 1: INFORMATION GATHERING AND ANALYSIS:
EXTERNAL ASSESSMENT, INTERNAL ASSESSMENT, and MARKET
ASSESSMENT
• STEP 2: IDENTIFICATION OF CRITICAL ISSUES FACING THE
ORGANIZATION
• STEP 3: DEVELOPMENT OF A STRATEGIC VISION
STATEMENT THAT SETS FUTURE DIRECTION FOR THE AGENCY
• STEP 4: MISSION STATEMENT REVIEW/REVISION
• STEP 5: DEVELOPMENT OF STRATEGIC GOALS
• STEP 6: FORMULATION OF STRATEGIES FOR EACH GOAL
• STEP 7: PREPARATION FOR OPERATIONAL PLANNING
BASED ON THE STRATEGIC PLAN (DEVELOPING ANNUAL
OBJECTIVES)

14. External Assessment
• Identify and assess changes and trends in the
world around the education will likely to have
a significant impact on it over the next 5-10
years.
• Look at political, economic, technological,
social, lifestyle, demographic, competitive,
regulatory and broad philanthropic trends.
• Ex. increased interest in supporting school
reform, change efforts by foundations serving
needs of low-income children and families

15. Internal Assessment Assessment
• To assess internal structure, process and
operations of the division/district and based
on this assessment, to pinpoint strengths and
weaknesses.
• Areas examined include personnel, fund-raising,
physical facilities, equipment, use of
technology, location, financial condition,
management practices, governance,
programs, products and services, and other
factors.

16. Assessment

17. Strengths
• Internal in nature
• Tangible strengths: Growth in student
enrollment, Increase in funding from LGU,
increasing NAT rates, decreasing drop out
rates
• Intangible strengths: Good leaders, excellent
teachers,

18. Weakness
• Internal in nature
• Things that prevent you to do what you really
want to do.
• Insufficient resources, poor student
performance, limited funds, lack of good
leadership

19. Opportunities
• External in nature
• Potential areas of growth and high
performance]
• Large population of school children, best
economic conditions, satisfied parents

20. Threats
• External in nature
• Challenges confronting the division/district
• Bad press coverage, parents not participating,
changes in regulations

21. Activity #1
• Conduct Internal and External Assessment
• Use the assessment in conducting SWOT
Analysis

22. Step 2 - Identification Of Critical Strategic
Issues, Choices And Challenges
• Critical issues are fundamental policy or
program concerns that define the most
important situations and choices a division
faces now and in the future.
• Critical issues can reflect long-standing
problems in the division, the community
served or recent events that are anticipated to
have a significant impact on the schools
and/or community served.

23. Critical strategic issues
• Reflect on the following:
• The external changes and trends having the
greatest positive and/or negative impact on
the schools . . .
• Major changes and trends in the needs,
perceptions and service expectations of our
students and constituencies . . .
• Internal strengths and weaknesses of the
school that will seem to have an impact on the
school’s future success . . .

24. Critical strategic issues
• Examples of critical issues
• What should the balance be between the
public schools versus private schools on
achievement test results?
• How should the public schools diversify its
instruction?
• Should the public schools expand its
instruction and facilities in support for better
student learning?
• How can we improve instruction to advance
learning of students?

25. Activity #2
• List down 1 critical issue. Use your SWOT
information.

26. Step 3 - Development Of A Strategic
Vision Statement
• The vision statement describes what we want
the schools to look like in ideal terms in the
future - the results we will be achieving and
characteristics the school will need to possess
in order to achieve those results.
• The strategic vision statement provides
direction and inspiration for goal setting.

27. Vision statement
• Through the vision statement, the school
describes how it intends to respond to the
major challenges expressed in the form of
critical strategic issues.

28. Step 4 - Development Of A Mission
Statement
• The mission statement is a broad description
of what we do, with/for whom we do it, our
distinctive competence, and WHY we do it
(our ultimate end).
• If a mission statement already exists, the
focus of this step is on reviewing it in light of
the emerging vision statement and if
necessary revising the language.

29. Mission Statement
• Reviewing the mission:
– Is the mission statement clear and on target in
today's operating environment?
– Do you have any specific questions or concerns
with respect to the mission statement?
– Does the mission statement duplicate the mission
of any other school? If so, what should we do
about it?
– Considering the answers to these questions, how,
if at all, should the mission statement be
changed?

30. Example of Mission statements
• NASA: To explore the universe and search for
life and to inspire the next generation
explorers
• Walt Disney: To make people happy.

31. Step 5 - Development Of Strategic Goal
Statements
• Strategic goals are broad statements of what
the nonprofit hopes to achieve in the next 3
years.
• Goals focus on outcomes or results and are
qualitative in nature.
• Often goal statements flow from some of the
critical issue statements developed earlier in
the planning process.

32. Strategic goals
• Examples of goals for the school:
• Continuously increase students achievement
rates in all subject areas.
• Improve teachers instruction in order to
support student achievement growth.
• Forge strategic alliances with the community
to advance students achievement.

33. Step 6 - Development Of Strategies
For Each Goal
• Strategies are statements of major approach
or method for attaining goals and resolving
specific issues.
• Ideas for strategy emerge from the earlier
internal, external and market assessments, --
especially the strengths and weaknesses
identified in the internal assessment as well as
the implications statements developed as part
of the market and external assessments.

34. Strategies for goals
• A strategy is judged potentially effective if it
does one or more of the following:
– Takes advantage of environmental opportunities
– Defends against environmental threats
– Leverages organizational competencies
– Corrects organizational shortcomings
– Offers some basis for future competitive
advantage
– Counteracts forces eroding current competitive
position

35. Strategies for goals
• example
Goals Strategy
Continuously increase
students achievement rates
in all subject areas.
•Provide books and materials to the
students before the school year starts
•Provide a tablet for each child
•Conduct monthly parental involvement
sessions
Improve teachers instruction
in order to support student
achievement growth.
•Training and seminar for a teacher 4
times a year
•Formative assessment of teachers
performance
Forge strategic alliances with
the community to advance
students achievement.
•Parents are tapped to teach TLE lessons
•Companies are asked to donate
computers and books

36. Step 7 - Development Of Annual
Objectives
• The purpose of this step is to formulate objectives
consistent with the goals and strategies of the strategic
plan.
• Objectives are specific, concrete, measurable
statements of what will be done to achieve a goal
generally within a one-year time frame.
• Objectives include answers to the following questions:
Who, will accomplish what, by when, and how will we
measure the outcomes or results of the activity.
• objectives should be "SMART" --Specific, Measurable,
Ambitious but Attainable, Relevant (contributing to the
school’s vision), and Time-based (we'll do X over the
next Y years).

37. Annual Objectives
• Example
• After three months, the kinder students will
be able to read CVC blends during
performance-based spot checks.

38. Effective Strategic Planning Practice
• First, establishment of a strategic planning
committee. If the division is serious about
strategic planning (and it needs to be!), it will
establish a strategic planning committee.
• Second, there needs to be a thorough and
shared understanding of strategic planning.
The term “strategic planning” is sometimes
used to describe a range of planning
activities. It is important that the process is
looked upon in the same way by board, staff
and other participants in the nonprofit
strategic planning process.

39. Effective Strategic Planning Practice
• There also needs to be agreement on
outcomes. While it is true that the expected
outcome of most strategic planning processes
is a strategic plan document, it is also
important to discuss and eventually agree
upon other expected outcomes.
• There needs to be real commitment to the
process on the part of leadership. While there
is no one right way to do strategic planning,
whatever approach the board chooses will
involve time, energy and careful thinking.

40. Effective Strategic Planning Practice
• There also needs to be involvement of many.
In order to be effective, strategic planning
must involve individuals representing all
constituencies of the division: staff,
constituents, funders and donors, as well as
other key community supporters.

41. Effective Strategic Planning Practice
• Finally, the strategic plan needs to be translated
into concrete detailed plans of action.
– Involvement in an isolated strategic planning exercise
or a one shot planning retreat is not sufficient.
– Strategic planning needs to lead to specific objectives
which include clear evaluation measures, set on an
annual basis by staff, the board of directors and the
board’s own committees.
– This commitment to implementation will also help to
ensure that the majority of the board’s time and
energy is in alignment with the mission, vision, and
goals and strategies contained in the strategic plan.

42. Activity #3
• Create Objectives and strategies