Mission, Vision, and Improvement

Candidates who successfully complete a district-level educational leadership preparation program understand and demonstrate the capacity to promote the current and future success and well-being of each student and adult by applying the knowledge, skills, and commitments necessary to collaboratively lead, design, and implement a district mission, vision, and process for continuous improvement that reflects a core set of values and priorities that include data use, technology, values, equity, diversity, digital citizenship, and community.

STANDARD 1 COMPONENTS

Component 1.1 - Program completers understand and demonstrate the capacity to collaboratively design, communicate, and evaluate a district mission and vision that reflects a core set of values and priorities that include data use, technology, values, equity, diversity, digital citizenship, and community.

Component 1.2 - Program completers understand and demonstrate the capacity to lead district strategic planning and continuous improvement processes that engage diverse stakeholders in data collection, diagnosis, design, implementation, and evaluation.

In the last six years as a central office administrator with Streetsboro City Schools, I've been a part of many district-wide initiatives, plans, and strategic efforts. I was almost immediately invited to sit on the Superintendent's Cabinet as a trusted member of the "inner circle," offering guidance, solutions, and resources towards long-term planning and district mission and vision activities (NELP 1.1).

One of these, a renewed district Strategic Plan, took place early in my tenure at Streetsboro, and I was tasked with leading the technology component, including communication both internally and externally, and served as the chair for that part of the plan.

Over the span of six months, I led efforts to direct a sub-committee first to identify gaps within the district and second, and to find gaps in our communication with parents and community members (NELP 1.2). Once identified, we worked to craft solutions, recommendations, and an action plan to drive forward.

The district had previously completed a much larger initiative to create the (outgoing) Strategic Plan, and at the time, district leadership, along with support from our ESC, decided smaller, more concentrated efforts were a better idea, so a targeted approach to learn more about district/community communication channels was designed to have a stronger, and more meaningful impact on district operations.

The Needs Analysis presented below (from a course on Communication with Dr. Boske) came from actual work in the district around communication, technology, and how to leverage resources. It was used to further enhance and support our district during this time of renewed strategic planning.

A Comprehensive Needs Analysis, created using Google Slides, and serving as a final project in EDLE 76544 Community Relations & Communication Skills, with Dr. Boske, fall semester of 2019. Note - my title at Streetsboro has changed a few times, reflecting additional responsibility along the way.

Undertaking a strategic planning process for a school district is no small task - and it's not a task that a small team alone can complete successfully. Strategic planning often drives the vision and mission of a district for years to come (NELP 1.1), and help lead the overall focus for its staff, teachers, students, and community members. It is of vital importance that the strategic planning efforts are focused, driven by strong leadership, and completed with an open mind.

In the case of Streetsboro Schools, the Board's directive at the time was to renew, and re-energize the already existing plan, and to make sure it aligned with the current needs and wants of the district. Much work had been done a few years before, and as such, the Board, and central office leadership decided on various initiatives to boost the current plan and to introduce fewer completely new components. Rather, many already existing components were revisited, refreshed, and realigned.

The new plan, with a renewed vision focused on student learning and achievement, was released to the public after it was introduced to the Board for approval and included several year-long goals and objectives for the district. Even though the Strategic Plan date was 2018, work continued in its guise for the next few years, until the realities of COVID-19 impacted public education forever, and a new world formed, needing new resources, and altered methods of instruction, learning, and performance.

As a member of the strategic planning team, and as a cabinet member, I worked with an outside partner to create a 1-pager to represent for all stakeholders the tenets of the Strategic Plan as it was, then (NELP 1.2). Working from a spreadsheet with plan components, results, and outcomes, I helped shape the public view (both internal and external) of the plan, and assisted in its dissemination on our website, social media channels, and in printed form throughout the district.