HALLADAY EDUCATION GROUP

HALLADAY EDUCATION GROUP
4316 Arthur Drive, Delta, BC, Canada V4K 2W8
P: 604.868.0002 | E: info@halladayeducationgroup.com


Friday, November 6, 2009

Which Strategic Planning Approach Is Right For Your School?

Hello:

I’m pleased to share with you that HEG’s Inner Circle Newsletter membership cracked the 3,000 mark yesterday. Thank you for your continued interest and support in our eNewsletter. We now reach out to 32 different countries, connecting with thousands of teachers, builders, founders, educators, and school leaders.

I was reading Don Southerton’s blog today on Korea and watched a great video developed by Dr. Nelson, Head of International School Songdo. Our firm was fortunate enough to work with Dr. Nelson and the staff of Gale International Korea to support the development of their state-of-the-art K-12 International School in the new planned city of Songdo, Korea. In his video, Dr. Nelson shares their educational vision, which is also cutting edge. If you’d like to watch the video online, click here.

Do you have a vision for your school? More importantly does it drive everything you do at your school? The staff you hire, the facilities and resources you acquire, the student’s you accept? Dr. Nelson recognizes that at his new school they need to set a vision for the future of learning at their school, which drives everything they do. What's more, it match their mission and core values. Does your school’s strategic plan do this? Do you have a plan for your school’s future that you can operationalize annually with your staff and board to ensure that your direction is set and everyone is on the same page?

In our Strategic Planning Toolkit, which is available at our Online Store, we define the Vision Statement and Strategic Plan as follows:

“In simplest terms, an organization undertakes strategic planning to reaffirm or modify its mission - why it exists, what its purpose is, and what it now does - and to agree on its vision - what it wants to be and do in the coming years. The purpose is not to decide what should be done in the future but to decide what should be done now to make desired things happen in an uncertain future.”

Our firm’s strategic planning web pages receive close to 1,000 visitors a month. The question most visitors ask is what type of strategic planning process fits their school or non-profit needs and their budget. What I’ve done is created an overview document that outlines three different planning approaches HEG can apply to your organization to fit your price point, and still deliver a quality strategic plan. Our three levels are titled:

1). Fast-Track;
2). Streamlined; and
3). Comprehensive.

If you’d like to read the overview for each of our strategic planning approaches, click here.

Today I want to continue in our eNewsletter below sharing more tips on the strategic planning process.

To your success,

Doug Halladay

President
Halladay Education Group Inc.

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

IN THIS ISSUE

1. In The News

2. Focus On Our Key Services

3. More Tips On Strategic Planning

4. Products At Our Online Store

1. IN THE NEW

>> STATE SUSPENDS LICENSE FROM CENTRAL OREGON SCHOOL FOR TROUBLED TEENS
OregonLive.com: By Michelle Cole, The Oregonian State officials have told parents to remove their children from a central Oregon boarding school after investigators found …

2. FOCUS ON OUR KEY SERVICES

(A) STARTING A SCHOOL
Starting a school can be challenging and you never have a 2nd chance to make a 1st impression. That’s why you need a firm with experience starting schools in USA, Canada, and Internationally.

(B) STRATEGIC PLANNING
We can lead the development of your school’s Strategic Plan, which will build consensus, motivate donors, and define critical priorities for your Board and Administration for school improvement.

(C) BOARD GOVERNANCE WORKSHOPS
Do you want your school to have the best board possible? Our full-day governance workshop (in combination with our informative online self-assessment survey) will fine-tune your board’s performance and focus priorities.

(D) SCHOOL EVALUATIONS
A school review is critical to knowing if you’re heading in the right direction. As a board member, are you sure your school is doing the best it can? Get the whole picture with our “In-Depth School Performance Review and Action Plan.”

(E) BUYING AND SELLING SCHOOLS
HEG and our certified Brokerage Associates assist buyers and sellers with the purchase and sale of for-profit Private K-12 Schools, Post Secondary Institutions, Career Colleges, and Schools throughout Canada, United States, and Internationally. HEG and our Professional Licensed Brokers are experienced in acquisitions, mergers, and advising established schools, and have a Broker relationship with other Brokers internationally who assist us to locate and sell Schools.

3. TIPS ON STRATEGIC PLANNING – FROM OUR TOOLKIT

The strategic planning process is disciplined and requires a sequence and pattern to keep it focused, productive, and effective. The process raises a progression of questions that helps planners examine, test assumptions, gather and incorporate information about the present, and anticipate the environment in which the organization will be working in the future. The process is about fundamental decisions and actions since choices need to be made in order to answer the sequence of questions below. The plan is ultimately no more and no less than a set of questions and answers about:
  • Where are you now?
  • Where do you want to be?
  • How do you get there?
  • How do you measure your progress and know you’ve gotten there?
I realize that strategic planning will consume your resources; a precious commodity for any organization. As a process that defines the critical direction and priorities of your organization, it can sometimes be an overwhelming and daunting task. Despite the overpowering nature of the process, the benefits of planning will far outweigh the hardships, so carry on reading.

What Can Strategic Planning Accomplish?

There are many benefits to be gained from the actual planning process, as well as from the final planning document. The very activities that staff and boards conduct as part of the planning process empower them to be more effective in their roles; more informed leaders and decision makers. In addition, the final planning document becomes a tool that can be used to effectively and efficiently manage the organization’s resources and decision making; at all levels.

As you begin the process of educating your organization on the merits of strategic planning, here are a few nuggets:
  • Determines the school’s priorities
  • Strengthens Head-Board partnership
  • Defines measurements of success and accountability
  • Forms the basis for yearly Head-Board evaluation and criteria
  • Builds energy and momentum
  • Broadens participation, creating a shared vision and sense of ownership
  • Builds stronger programs and energizes them
  • Improves finances and projections
  • Analyzes critical issues (Finance, Enrollment, Fundraising, Human resources, Academic programs, Campus and grounds
  • Focuses on excellence
  • Enhances constituent investment and a common language for communication
To find out more about our firm’s strategic planning services and which approach suits your school or non-profit, or learn more about how we can help provide you solutions, please email HEG at info@halladayeducationgroup.com to discuss your needs in more detail.

You can read more about our approach and testimonials at by clicking here.

Or go to our Online Store and invest in our Strategic Planning Toolkit.

4. ONLINE STORE

Here are 2 popular Toolkits to help you to either start your own school or develop your own strategic plan, step-by-step.

(1). STRATEGIC PLANNING TOOLKIT (#1 BEST SELLER)
Learn how to develop your own Strategic Plan with step-by-step instructions contained in our detailed Workbook and Manual, along with $500 worth of bonus CD’s. It’s all here to help you develop your own plan

(2). START-A-SCHOOL TOOLKIT (#2 BEST SELLER)
Are you still struggling with starting your school? Four experienced school leaders share how they started their own school from the ground up. You’ll also receive our bonus CD on developing your strategic plan.

To your success,

Douglas Halladay
President
Halladay Education Group Inc.

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