The Strategic Planning Team, made up of accomplished industry professionals Dr. Steve Barker and Lynita Jackson, at GSBA is available to help your school system navigate the process of building your next 5-Year Strategic Plan by providing objective facilitation of the process, adding to the credibility of the plan’s development. With experienced GSBA facilitators helping guide the planning process, your school system and community of stakeholders will be led through a planning journey that includes:
- Gathering stakeholder input from a wide range of participants
- Reviewing your current mission, vision, and beliefs
- Conducting a review of current data and feedback
- Identifying goals, performance objectives, and action steps for the future.
A well-designed, targeted plan will be developed through this thorough process. Finally, GSBA will assist with the identification of measurable data points for monitoring the goals and objectives for the life of the plan.
Why is Strategic Planning so Important for a Governance Team?
A well-designed, measurable strategic plan enables a school system’s governance team and staff to remain focused on the core business of educating the students within their community. A strong plan also enables a community of stakeholders to help set the direction for the future and remain engaged and involved in the education process within their local community. A strong strategic plan, with a balanced scorecard for measuring progress, also allows all stakeholders to better understand the budget process and budget priorities for the life of the plan.
The Trust Factor
A strong strategic planning process within a school system helps build trust among all stakeholders within a community.
Adhering to a strong strategic plan helps maintain trust among all stakeholders within a community.
Strategic Planning – The Simple Truth
Simply put, all high-performing governance teams have strong strategic plans in place, make decisions that are in line with the plan, and monitor progress toward each goal for the life of the plan.
Why Services Does GSBA Offer?
GSBA Full Strategic Plan Service
GSBA has developed a process that is comprehensive. It engages a cross-section of your stakeholders at a number of levels during the process, including a community conversation that focuses on moving the district forward. We provide planning, logistical help, facilitation, and guidance for action teams.
The Simbli Planning Module can assist in monitoring, managing, implementing, and communicating the plan.
Planning Software
Simbli’s planning software can help organizations effectively manage, implement, and communicate plans to all stakeholders. Simbli facilitates effective planning by streamlining plan management, performance measurement, and communication – all in one simple, easy-to-use tool. Visit the eBOARDsolutions website to learn more.
Strategic Plan Audit Service
GSBA now offers a Strategic Plan Audit Service. This service is recommended for school districts and governance teams at the halfway point in the 5-Year plan or 2 years prior to an accreditation visit. This audit will include an examination of the current plan, the balanced scorecard, and any evidence that is readily available for each action step and initiative within the plan. The audit will also examine each goal and objective for ongoing monitoring. A report will be developed that provides the school system with the current status of the monitoring of the plan, strengths of the plan, identified gaps between implementation and monitoring, and areas in need of attention. Finally, a crosswalk between the findings of the audit report and the accreditation standards may be developed if desired by the district.
The fee for this audit service depends on the individual needs of the district and can be negotiated prior to the project’s initiation.
General Consultation Service
Lynita Jackson, Strategic Planning Services & Vision Manager, and Dr. Steve Barker, Director of Strategic Planning, remain available for consultation with member districts as needed. Need to know best practices for plan development, current examples of strong plans with balanced scorecards, how to start the strategic planning conversation within the governance team, or need a whole board training session on strategic planning best practices? GSBA’s Strategic Planning team is here to help. Remember, Whole Board Governance Team training provided by the GSBA Strategic Planning Team can be designed to fit the individual needs of your district and will count toward your required hours for annual training for board members.
At GSBA, we stand ready to help governance teams with their strategic planning efforts.
Dr. Steve Barker – Dr. Steve Barker, Director of Strategic Planning, recently joined the GSBA team after 30 years in K-12 education in Georgia, having served his last nine years as superintendent of the Coweta County School System. During his tenure as superintendent, the Coweta County School System established a reputation for being an innovative, data-driven district that achieved strong learning outcomes for students. Along with the work of the many great Coweta County School System employees and stakeholders, Steve credits much of the success of the Coweta team, including remaining debt-free as a school system, to a strong strategic plan and a commitment to aligning decisions and expenditures to the strategic plan. Because of Coweta’s many successes under Steve’s leadership, the Georgia School Superintendents Association (GSSA) recognized his outstanding leadership by naming him Superintendent of the Year in 2017.
Lynita Jackson – Long-time strategic planning manager, Ms. Lynita Jackson, brings a wealth of experience in the area of strategic planning. Having successfully facilitated the planning process in school systems across the state for several years, Lynita has a strong reputation for being knowledgeable of the strategic-planning process, passionate about helping serve the children across the state of Georgia, and for bringing a vibrant and lively personality to the planning process to help make it interesting and meaningful for all participants. Because of her expertise and her reputation as a leader in this work, districts from across the U.S. reach out to Lynita for assistance and guidance in the planning process.
Lynita and Steve are passionate about helping your district reach its goals and are ready to assist you with your strategic planning needs. Contact Dr. Steve Barker, Director of Strategic Planning, or Lynita Jackson, Strategic Planning Services & Vision Manager, for more information.
