Plan
Two-Stage Process: Engage in Goal Creation and Strategy Selection
Overview: Define a measureable (Smart) Goal
Goals provide a sense of direction and motivation and a clear focus for improvement. They create a target for those implementing a plan. Focusing improvement efforts by setting goals increases the likelihood that improvement will take place. Identifying interim and end targets help a district know exactly where it hopes to go and measure whether it is on track to get there. While an important function of the plan is to support funding of a district’s strategies and activities, it is also important to remember that not everything on which a district is working needs to be part of a continuous improvement plan. It is critical for a district to understand what its priorities are and to be realistic about how many goals it can implement, monitor, and evaluate.
Define a Measurable (SMART) Goal
Name Goal
Define End Target Measures
Define Interim Target Measures
Define Interim Target Measures for a Task
Considerations
As you think about past practice, which goals were achieved?
What is your evidence?
What patterns might explain why they were achieved?
As you think about past practice, which goals were not successful?
What is your evidence?
What patterns might explain why these goals were not achieved?
As you think about subgroups, what did you notice about the performance of each subgroup in relationship to the performance of all students or to the performance of all other students not represented in that subgroup?
As you think about goals, what assets or strengths do you have that you can leverage to address them?
As you think about past goals, what systems were needed to support them? To what extent was the success of the goal impacted by the presence or lack of systems? What systems might need to be built or strengthened to ensure the success of your goals going forward?
As you think about past goals, how did the level of resources you were able to devote to them impact their success?
Given the conditions in your district, how many goals are realistic? How might a goal be specific yet broadly enough defined to incorporate opportunities for multiple actions?
Overview: Add Strategies
Add Strategies is the roadmap to achieving measurable goals. Strategies include the specific actions that adults will take, including what they will do, who will take them, by when they will be taken, and what fidelity of implementation looks like. Strategies must be selected from MIStrategy Bank. The Bank contains many pre-populated strategies, and districts may also enter their own.
This section also contains a variety of tools to help districts identify whether they have the capacity to implement a strategy with fidelity as well as what their level of readiness for such implementation might be. Determining this level will help identify potential activities as well as a timeline for implementation. The selection of strategies and activities needs to directly align with the Assess Needs process; the more tightly they align, the more likely the strategies will meet the needs of the district. In addition, users will determine how strategies will be monitored and evaluated, how they will be funded, and how they will be communicated.
Selecting a Strategy from the Strategy Bank
Creating a Strategy Implementation Plan
Identifying Strategy Details
Identifying Activities
Funding the Strategy
Communicating the Strategy
Adding Your Plan to the Portfolio
Considerations
To what extent were past strategies successful? What is your evidence? What does it say?
What could be learned from past experiences with strategies that might help with strategy selection and implementation?
What process is in place to identify new strategies? Are the right people on the team to help choose the strategy(ies) based on the data? Once a strategy has been chosen, are the right team members in the room to help define the activities and supports related to that strategy?
What systems may already be in place to support strategy implementation? To what extent are they effective? What is the evidence? Based on the data, what systems might need to be enhanced or built?
What strategies might be needed to address inequities and ensure equity at the system level? What strategies will ensure equity in implementing a culturally responsive, tiered approach to instruction with sufficient and equitable resources and supports to ensure high-quality learning experiences for all students? What data will you use to monitor and evaluate strategies put in place to ensure equity in systems and in outcomes?
What monitoring systems are in place? To what extent are they effective? What is the evidence? How might the monitoring system be made more effective?
What evaluation systems are in place? To what extent are they effective? What is the evidence? How might the evaluation system be made more effective?
