Why Most Approaches to Developing School Strategic Plans Have Minimal Impact
“This has given me the hope that I lost in countless sessions of strategic planning. Now I have a way that to my mind can effectively change our school for the better.”
— Pieter Booysen, Principal, Afrikaans High School, Randburg, South Africa
School Strategic Planning – The Reality
If you are like most school leaders, you know what it is like to develop school strategic plans which don’t have much impact. They meet the requirements placed on the school and make for good doorstops but that’s about the extent of their utility.
This is because they are often easier to write than to implement. When a plan is developed by a committee or consultant team - even with input from focus groups, interviews or surveys - it often meets resistance or is poorly understood during implementation.
As part of your strategic planning in the past, you may have done stakeholder workshops and got good input, only to find little engagement and follow up when it comes to action.
You probably think “There must be a better way – a way that will actually help this school create a great strategic plan which forms the basis of creating a great school.”
School Strategic Planning – A Better Way
Well, you are right. There is such an approach. It is an approach which has the stated support of non other than global education expert, Professor Michael Fullan who described it as:
“An exciting and inspiring approach for
tackling deeper system transformation.”
It is an approach called “Future Search” and it has been widely used by schools and school districts across North America - and it is now emerging in Australia.
It is an approach based on the premise that the best way to generate input and engagement around a school’s strategic plan is a large group structured meeting of the ‘whole system’ (including school leadership, faith, teachers, admin staff, students, parents, and external partners).
Through such meetings, the whole school community gets a chance to have their say, know that they have been genuinely heard and develop common ground for moving forward.
School Strategic Planning – The Outcomes
In short, this approach produces collaborative engagement that achieves results that could not have been previously achieved.
Properly planned and lead, such meetings produce 7 distinct outcomes for creating a great strategic plan and a great school.
School Strategic Planning – Understandable Scepticism
Some school leaders have understandable scepticism about this approach. Like all of us, you have probably experienced many small group meetings that were unproductive, let alone large group meetings aimed at developing a school’s entire strategic plan.
However, it is the combination of proper planning, quality meeting leadership and particularly the 8 Future Search principles, that make this approach so powerful in producing a strategic plan that has meaning and relevance.
Here’s what some authors have said about the use of this approach in developing school strategic plans and effecting change in North American schools districts and schools (in a book containing 16 case studies):
“…the principles and practices of Future Search address some of the limitations of previous school strategic planning models, particularly those involving outside stakeholders. Future Search addresses administrators’ fear of opening up “their” systems by clearly delineating the boundaries and responsibilities of stakeholders. Community stakeholders play a vital role in shaping and implementing the future direction of the district [or school]. However, they do not write action plans for other groups, nor do they tell them what to do. As described in many of the cases in this book, new relationships are developed and nurtured in this process as information and expectations are openly shared. The trust that’s developed as people work together and appreciate their similarities and differences is the basis for positive change.
In previous planning models, plans were very detailed, leaving little room for input and creativity by those who would actually be implementing the action. This level of detail made adapting to rapidly changing external realities much more challenging. People in the district [or school] saw implementing the action plans as separate from their day to day planning and action, contributing to overload and fragmentation. In contrast, the outcomes of a …Future Search provide both stability and focus. The level of detail does not restrict further development of new ideas or cause burnout.”
-– Future Search in School District Change - Connection, Community, and Results, Rita Schweitz & Kim Martens with Nancy Aronson
More information on how this approach might be of benefit in developing a great School Strategic Plan and a great school.
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School Parents
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Case Studies
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Testimonials
“I can now honestly say that I have never seen such an approach produce such positive outcomes, goodwill and energy.”
– Deidre Anderson, CEO, U@MQ, Macquarie University
“An exciting and inspiring approach to tackling deeper systems transformation.”
– Professor Michael Fullan
“The Future Search conference encouraged me to take risks. When I heard about TIMMS (Third International Mathematics and Science Study), I went back to my colleagues and said, “I think we can do something with this. We finished 1st in Science and 6th in Maths.”
– Pat Franzen, Science Teacher, Naperville Community School District
“These exemplary principles for facilitating group process have helped us create the space where individuals can take responsibility for their own learning and act upon the decisions they make.”
– Deborah B Reeve EdD, Deputy Executive Director, National Association of Elementary School Principals
"The average scores for youth apprenticeship students went up 200 points on the Statewide standardised tests and enrolments increased by 300%. Today there is a waiting list!"
– Mike Erwin, Principal, North Montgomery County Technical Career School
“I was very impressed with the Future Search approach and have used aspects of it in my own school.”
– Richard Morgan, Principal, The Pittwater House Schools