GSBA Strategic Planning Service
A Continuous Improvement Model
The video above features GSBA Assistant Executive Director Mark Willis and Carroll County Superintendent Scott Cowart, formerly of GLISI, discussing the importance of strategic planning.
The Georgia School Boards Association (GSBA), in partnership with the Georgia Leadership Institute for School Improvement (GLISI), has developed a systematic and sustainable approach to district strategic improvement planning and alignment with local school improvement plans. This comprehensive process engages the community and all stakeholders to create universal ownership and support for district and school improvement.
GSBA’s strategic improvement planning service follows a continuous improvement process designed around five questions:
Who are we?
Where are we now?
Where do we want to go?
How will we know when we have arrived?
How do we plan to get there?
The entire process may take 8 –10 months to complete and is divided into the following phases.
Phase 1
Community Engagement: GSBA’s process begins with a community engagement session, involving 50 to 200 people, and a stakeholder survey to gather vital input from the community.
Planning Team: A group of 20 – 25 people representing all stakeholders from the board, central office, schools, parents, students, business and other community representatives are assembled to answer the questions: “Who are we,?” Where are we now,? and “Where do we want to go?” Specific outcomes include a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis, developing beliefs, mission and vision for the district, and developing strategic goals and priorities.
Action Teams: A smaller group of 5 – 7 people are assembled to answer the question, "How will we know when we have arrived?" The action team looks at each Strategic Goal or Goal Area identified by the planning team and identifies performance objectives, measures and targets. Each goal may be assigned a different action team. The work of the action team is then presented back to the planning team for review and approval.
Phase 2
Board and Staff: Once the board has adopted the work of the Planning Team and Action Teams, specific initiatives and action steps necessary to execute the plan are then defined. These initiatives will be identified at the board, district, school (School Improvement Plans) and community levels.
Phase 3
The plan is aligned to the district and school budgets as well as board, superintendent and staff evaluations.
Phase 4
Involves the execution, monitoring and reporting of the plan as well as an ongoing process to review and update the plan as needed.
Monitoring and Managing the Plan
One of the most challenging aspects of keeping a strategic plan alive is the ability to manage, monitor and report on the plan.
GSBA’s eBOARD Strategic Plan Module makes this process easier than ever. Plan items can be easily updated by staff allowing users to filter the plan by staff, department, status, priority, date, etc. As the plan is updated, results can be reported on through a Strategic Dashboard, Balanced Scorecard and Goal Alignment report. Your staff and community are kept aware of the progress made on the plan. The Strategic Plan Module is just one of the modules of eBOARD that helps keep everyone informed and up-to-date. Go to www.eboardsolutions.com for detailed information.