Private School Strategic Planning 101 - A Guide To School Success

Strategic planning, when done right, does not have to be frustrating, unproductive, costly, or  divert the

energies of your school's leadership. If done properly, the process will stimulate support in your community and focus resources for continued development and provide a clear competitive advantage aligned with your mission. The purpose of your strategic plan is to lay out a concise and practical road map to achieve your mission and vision -- moving away from being "reactive" -- solving today's problems -- towards being "proactive" - eliminating problems in the future and taking advantage of opportunities now.

Your plan should provide a framework that enables your school to focus and coordinate your resources, work towards common goals, assess and adjust as you move forward, and focus your board's priorities, guide your staff, and inspire your community. The planning process addresses a series of questions that examine assumptions, incorporates information about the present, and anticipates the world in which the school will be working in, determines how you will get there, and allows you to measure and adjust and you attain your vision.

Value To Your Board

A school is most effective when the resources of your organization are aligned by a common vision, mission, strategies, goals, and action plans. Simply operating your school by calendar or crisis is not acceptable. You want your organization to move from being reactive to being proactive; rather than responding to unexpected changes, you want to anticipate and plan for them.  

HEG's planning approach provides a practical model for mission-based leadership. Our step-by-step seamless process provides concrete objectives and deliverables that can be implemented and measured to dramatically improve the performance of your school, moving you from good to great. It allows you to accurately gauge the progress of your plan and school performance, as well as linking your governance model to the annual operational plan. Very simply, it's the process by which your board envisions your future, identifies a picture of the future based on current data, and controls forces that affect you from attaining your vision, making adjustments as you move forward. This allows your school to:

• Identify areas of operation needing consideration now and using it as a springboard to strengthen performance in the future;
• Identify and reach consensus on issues before they become a crisis (e.g., finance, funding, enrollment, marketing, HR, academic programs, student performance, facilities, educational program, governance);
• Articulate a uniform, shared vision, providing a clearer focus, producing efficiency, participation, and ownership by your stakeholders;
• Allocate resources to opportunities and improve finances and projections;
• Build trust, respect, team-work, and communication amongst all stakeholders;
• Create a framework to guide decision making and ensure that members are working towards the same goals, even if the environment around the school changes;
• Gain credibility and identify critical projects to focus your resources;
• Inspire your community to invest in your goals through focused fundraising campaigns;
• Ensure that board members understand their roles, responsibilities, and board-wide priorities within their committee structure; and
• Monitor performance and provide benchmarks from which progress can be measured within your board and senior administration.

Fitting The Pieces Into Your Governance Model

The diagram below clarifies how the pieces come together to develop, implement, and monitor your plan. You can see that your five-year planing document should be used annually by your board to determine your yearly priorities and your senior administration to break-down how they plan to measurably implement the priorities, encompassed within their own evaluation process. This puts all key players on the same page. 

 

Planning Approach

HEG's planning approach supports your board and senior administration in the development and implementation of your plan. Our approach typically encompasses a progression of stages over a five to seven month time frame with the development of the strategic plan and action plan for implementation in the coming school year. This is achieved through the following steps that are customized foryour school:

 

Our approach results in both the "compass" and "road map" to support your board in the  development and implementation of a measurable plan to focus school improvement - maximizing your school's educational, operational, governance, and financial performance while linking priorities of the board with Senior Administration's Operational Plan.  

Provided here is a link to a recent strategic plan HEG was engaged to develop. Click on the link to open a downloadable copy of their strategic plan for Forest Lake Education Center Strategic Plan. HEG's President has been involved in the development of a variety of strategic plans for a number of schools types (International, US, Canadian, IBO, Faith-Based, Public) globally.
 

Next Step

If you would like to find out more about how we can help your board to develop your school's strategic plan or advise on the review and implementation of your current plan, please contact HEG to find out more by sending an email to info@halladayeducationgroup.com or calling directly at +1-604-868-0002.

To your success, 

Douglas Halladay

President

Halladay Education Group

P: +1-604-868-0002 | E: info@halladayeducationgroup.com  

4316 Arthur Drive, Delta, BC, Canada, V4K 2W8 

P.S. Don't forget to go to our secure Online Store to invest in our Strategic Planning or Start-A-School Toolkits. They're affordable and practical.  

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Strategic Planning Is Critical To Guiding Your School In Today's Challenging Times

Strategic planning when done right, does not have to be frustrating, unproductive, costly, or divert the energies of your school's leadership. If facilitated properly, the process will stimulate support in your community and focus resources for your school's continued development.   The purpose of your strategic plan is to lay out a road map to achieve your mission and vision; moving away from being "reactive" - solving today's problems - towards being "proactive" - eliminating problems in the future and taking advantage of opportunities. Your plan should provide the framework that enables your school to focus and coordinate your resources, work towards common goals, assess and adjust as you move forward, and focus your board's priorities and inspire your staff and community. A school is most effective when its resources are aligned by a common vision, mission, strategies, goals, and action plans. Simply operating your school by calendar or crisis is not acceptable. You want your organization to move from being reactive to being proactive; rather than responding to unexpected changes, you want to anticipate and plan for them. The best way to predict the future is to create it!!  HEG's planning approach provides a practical and proven model for mission-based management. Our step-by-step process provides concrete objectives and deliverables that can be implemented and measured to dramatically improve the performance of your school. It allows you to accurately gauge the progress of your plan and school performance, as well as linking it to your governance model and CEO's annual operational plan. Very simply, it is the process by which your board can envision your future, identify a picture of the future based on current data, and control the forces that affect you to reach that vision, making adjustments as you move forward. This will allow your school to: Identify areas of operation needing consideration using it as a springboard to strengthen performance; Identify and reach consensus on issues before they become a crisis (e.g., finance, funding, enrollment, marketing, HR, academic programs, student performance, facilities, educational program, governance); Articulate a uniform, shared vision, providing a clearer focus, producing efficiency, participation, and ownership by your stakeholders; Allocate resources to opportunities and improve finances and projections; Build trust, respect, team-work, and communication amongst all stakeholders; Create a framework to guide decision making and ensure that members are working towards the same goals, even if the environment around the school changes; Gain credibility and identify critical projects to focus your resources; Inspire your community to invest in your strategic goals through focused fundraising campaigns; Ensure that board members understand their roles, responsibilities, and board-wide priorities; and Monitor performance and provide benchmarks from which progress can be measured. We have considerable experience developing strategic plans for K-12 private and public schools and districts internationally and can bring that same expertise and results to your school. Our approach as a rule encompasses a series of steps, including our proprietary surveys and on-site retreats over a five to seven month period to develop a comprehensive strategic plan and action plan. The resulting plan will maximize your school's strengths, foresee threats, reduce weaknesses, and take advantage of future opportunities. This is achieved through the following steps, which are tailored to your requirements: Provided below is an overview of the methodology and steps we would use to develop your school's strategic plan. The following is a quick snapshot of our Strategic Planning process and approach: Click here to read comments by our clients on our services as well as our planning process. Click here to review our strategic planning options (customized to your organization). Click here to download HEG's Eight-Step Strategic Planning Process. Click here to invest in our Strategic Planning Toolkit. Provided below are links to strategic plans that Doug Halladay has engaged in the development of. Click on the school to open a downloadable copy of their strategic plan. Sacred Heart School  Queen Margaret's School  Harbert Hills Academy  International School of Ulaanbaatar Next Step If you would like to find out more about how we can help your board to develop your school's strategic plan or advise on the implementation of your current plan, please contact Doug Halladay directly to find out more by sending an email to info@halladayeducationgroup.com or call directly at 1-604-868-0002. To your success,  Doug Halladay President Halladay Education Group P.S. Don't forget to go to our secure Online Store to invest in our Strategic Planning or Start-A-School Toolkits.They're affordable and practical.

What Are The Benefits Of A Strategic Plan?

Happy New Year:

Even though our New Years started off with our Junior Hockey team losing out on the opportunity to win their seventh consecutive Gold Medal, it was an inspiring game to watch (and their second place finish to the USA). The good news of course is that our Vancouver Canucks Hockey Team is on a winning streak; and of course our Olympics are going to start in less than 40 days (with even more hockey!).

I wanted to thank many of you who’ve ordered our Toolkits (“Strategic Planning” and “Starting A School”) from our secure Online Store. Last year it was a 50/50 split between the two Toolkits. What pleases me is that over the three years that I’ve had them available online, I’ve only had one return. Those who’ve invested in the Toolkits have praised them for their practical use and application to their needs.

Many of you recognize the value that a strategic plan can have for your school or non-profit, and contact our firm about how to develop a plan for your organization. You realize that your community continues to shift and forces are impacting your school, your students, and staff, and you need a practical plan that can maximize your school’s strengths, foresee your threats, reduce your weaknesses, and take advantage of future opportunities.

A well developed strategic plan can steer your school through challenging times. Our planning approach results in the development of strategies that energize your community, which they will buy into, and can be implemented right away with action plans to support school improvement.

BENEFITS OF A STRATEGIC PLAN

The time devoted to the planning process varies from organization to organization and depends on the resources available to devote to the process. Whether you decide to devote only a two-day retreat to the process or engage in a twelve-month process, your organization will begin to realize the benefits from the start.

Some of the fundamental benefits to the planning process and the development of the final plan include:

1. Articulates a uniform, shared Mission and Purpose: When the underlying mission of the organization, its basic purpose, is brought into question. Any thought of changing the basic mission of an organization unquestionably calls for strategic planning.
2. Organizational Uncertainties and Crisis Management: Non-profit organizations often have to deal with changing circumstances around them and make adjustments less critical than a fundamental mission change. Although the purpose may stay the same, the environment is changing, calling for modifications in how the organization does things to achieve the mission.
3. Creates a Framework and Direction that Guides Decision Making: Boards, CEO’s, and staff need a comprehensive and understandable basis for day-to-day decision making and yearly operational plans/budgets. Decisions in governance and management are more reliable when made deliberately, with full examination of possible future consequences, within the framework of a set of priorities, in accordance with the organization’s levels of authority, boundaries, and channels.
4. Foundation for Fundraising: A successful fundraising program rests on both a realistic determination of funding needs and a persuasive statement of why people should contribute financial support. Strategic planning is requisite, especially for organizations that are embarking on a major capital campaign for bricks and mortar or endowments. Comprehensive planning is one of the key marks of readiness to undertake the commitment that such campaigns require – major donors are expecting and looking for this.
5. Allocates Resources-to-Opportunities: All organizations must shepherd their resources and constantly be vigilant in expending their income and assigning their personnel. Board members have a fiduciary role in financial responsibility. Strategic planning enables boards to enact logical resource allocation over longer periods of several budget cycles, and yearly strategic financial plans. This in turn creates a level of trust in their community, since the board is transparent in where the organization’s resources are invested.
6. Tool to Monitor Performance and Achievement: Criteria against which to measure and evaluate how well an organization and/or individuals are doing are established through strategic planning. There is no way to tell whether an organization is achieving its purposes unless somewhere those purposes are clearly stated and measured.
7. Organizational Effectiveness and Commitment: Non-profits function as a team boards, executives, and staff. The process of planning puts a spotlight on team effectiveness. Particularly revealing is the focus it puts on board leadership; measuring board commitment and fulfillment, and belief in the mission (not just today’s problems), board support and oversight of staff; and any micromanagement or blurring of boundaries or channels. Planning can strengthen the organizations fabric, becoming the adhesive of an emerging team effort.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

I’ve included below some additional information to help you determine what to do next with your current and future planning process:

1). General overview of our planning process and testimonials

2). Strategic planning options

3). HEG’s 8-Step Strategic Planning Process

3). How to invest in our Strategic Planning Toolkit

NEXT STEP

If you would like to find out more about our Strategic Planning consulting services, or learn more about how we can help provide your organization helpful solutions, please email HEG at info@halladayeducationgroup.com or call directly at 604-868-002 to discuss your situation in more detail.

To Your success

Doug Halladay

President
Halladay Education Group
P: 604.868.0002 / F: 868.472.8737 / Email: info@halladayeducationgroup.com
www.HalladayEducationGroup.com

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P.S. Don’t forget to go to our secure Online Store to invest in our Strategic Planning or School Start-Up Toolkits.