Plan to Plan: A primer for success

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Plan to Plan A primer for success

• Virginia Brennan-Kyro
• MASA New Superintendents Conference
• September 24, 2008

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Assumptions

• The 21st century is different
• Kids are different
• Learning is different
• Teaching must be different
• Schools must be different
• For schools to be different, you must plan in a
  different way

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Overview

• Advantages of strategic planning
• Key components
• Where to begin
• Pitfalls to avoid
• Sustainability

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You Know Youre a Superintendent When

• You have a loud discussion in your car on the way
  home from workand you are alone
• You get calls at home from board members and
  parents who say they didnt want to bother you at
  work

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You Know Youre a Superintendent When

• You feel guilty about going to a movie, then you
  realize its Saturday night
• You realize your hourly rate is less than that of
  an elementary principal

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You Know Youre a Superintendent When

• As the first snowflake falls, everyone reminds
  you that a BIG SNOWSTORM is coming
  tonight
• You spend more time talking to the school board
  attorney than to your spouse

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• A leader's job is to look into the future and
  see the organization, not as it is, but
  as it should be." 

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Why strategic planning?

• Its expected
• It provides an opportunity to demonstrate
  leadership
• It provides a collaborative process for
  initiating change

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Why strategic planning?

• If you dont know where youre going, youll
  end up someplace else.
• --Yogi Berra

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What are the advantages of strategic planning?

• It provides a roadmap for the district
• It focuses resources
• It aligns mission/vision with the budget process

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Advantages

• It celebrates the districts uniqueness
• It develops common purpose
• It promotes transparency

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Where do you begin?

• Prepare for planning
• Confirm commitment and readiness
• Conduct a basic awareness session

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Where do you begin?

• Communicate about planning
• Build a planning team
• Collect vital signs information

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What are the key components of strategic planning?

• Beliefs
• Vision
• Mission
• Goals
• Strategies
• Action Plans
• Include specific results
• Cost-benefit analysis

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Who should be on your planning team?

• Superintendent
• Teachers
• Administrators
• Board Members
• Staff
• Parents
• Community Members
• Students

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What are some of the pitfalls to avoid?

• Simple majority vote
• Allowing one or two personalities to dominate the
  sessions
• Ignoring crucial issues
• Non-implementation of the plan

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How do you ensure sustainability?

• Conduct periodic reviews
• Complete annual updates to advance the plan
• Incorporate accountability and specificity
• Ensure that the plan remains a priority

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In order to succeed, your desire for success
should be greater than your fear of
failure. --Bill Cosby
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Superintendentisms

• Know yourself be yourself
• Keep the main thingthe main thing
• Under-promiseover-deliver
• Celebrate successes

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Superintendentisms

• Find a mentor
• Network, network, and network
• Communicate, communicate, and communicate
• Keep a sense of humor

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• Leaders are visionaries with a poorly
  developed sense of fear and no concept of the
  odds against them.
• --Dr. Robert Jarvik