Strategic Planning

Final Plan Document - Phasing Schedule

Quarterly Review - 3/12/08 Board Presentation PPT - PDF

Quarterly Review - 12/12/07 Board Presentation PPT - PDF

Process

Process Discipline Chart ][ Photos - at work

Strategic Action ][ Strategic Organization ][ School (Site) Planning ][ Timeline

Community Input Team
D97 Quality Topline Report ][ Summary Report to the Board on May 30, 2007

Members: Strategic Planning Steering Committee
Action Team Volunteers

Team 1: We will ensure the highest academic achievement for each student.
Team 2: We will make each student the active agent of his/her educational experience.
Team 3: We will establish a culture of inclusion that respects and promotes diversity.
Team 4: We will ensure learning experiences that develop the whole child to accomplish our mission and objectives.
Team 5: We will guarantee that all necessary resources, including financial, will be available and aligned with our mission and objectives.
Team 6: We will ensure the highest caliber staff who will lead the district in its mission and objectives.
Team 7: We will constructively communicate internally and externally.

STRATEGY LEADERS

1. We will ensure the highest academic achievement for each student. Steve Thompson
2. We will make each student the active agent of his/her educational experience. Lisa Ginet
3. We will establish a culture of inclusion that respects and promotes diversity. Jeff Weissglass
4. We will ensure learning experiences that develop the whole child to accomplish our mission and objectives. Sanford Greenberg
5. We will guarantee that all necessary resources, including financial, will be available and aligned with our mission and objectives. Jim Egeberg
6. We will ensure the highest caliber staff who will lead the district in its mission and objectives. Lynette Lovely
7. We will constructively communicate internally and externally. Michele Zurakowski

Nov. 2-4 Retreat DRAFT Statements

• Beliefs: statements of fundamentals values. Beliefs are the foundation of the plan and express our very best selves
• Mission: expression of the district's identity, purpose, and means of action. The mission is not meant to be immediately understandable, nor is it meant to address current reality. It describes the transformation of the district into an ideal state. Pieces of the mission statement are easily extractable into shorter statements.
• Parameters: limitations the organization places upon itself. Parameters are self-imposed boundaries or checks. They provide a framework for us to operate through when making decisions
• Objectives: specific, measurable end results in terms of student success, achievement, and/or performance. Objectives are what we must attain in order to fulfill our mission. They are stretch statements, again, our district at its very possible best.
• Strategies: articulation of bold initiatives through which organization will achieve mission. Strategies are stated in broad terms and fill in the gaps from where we were to where we want to go. They provide broad categories from which the action teams will formulate specific steps to bring us closer to achieving our mission.

The strategic plan provides a completely new context for everything within the system. Therefore, it is necessary to bring all action into that context. The facilitator (instructor) conducts sessions with all administrators (two days per group) and key personnel to develop a practical understanding of strategic intent, the dimensions of whole-context organization, and the kinds of action.

Since a strategic plan cannot be realized with the organization that developed it, every aspect of the system must be aligned with the strategic intent. The facilitator (instructor) will direct sessions during which all administrators and key personnel (three-days per group) establish an understanding of the dynamics of whole-context organization, develop actual mutual expectations and commitments by all participants, and discover constant emergence of organization.

Organization becomes much more than a hierarchical chart, reflecting a corporate model. It, rather, becomes a dynamic process of relationships and action with its formation constantly evolving.

In order to guarantee that the strategic plan is realized, it must be translated into individual school plans. The facilitator (instructor) conducts sessions (three days) to train a school planning facilitator, along with the principals and selected central office administrators, in the process and discipline of school planning in a strategic context. The school facilitators then, working with the district internal facilitator (coordinator) for strategic planning, will facilitate the planning process for their own school.

10/31/06
District 97 Strategic Plan Steering Committee Convenes

The Strategic Planning Steering Committee, led by Dr. Bill Cook of The Cambridge Group, begins its work in a three day retreat November 2, 3, and 4. Representing all school communities, the team of parents, staff and community members will draft:
Beliefs: statements of fundamentals values
Mission: expression of the district's identity, purpose, and means of action
Parameters: limitations the organization places upon itself
Objectives: specific, measurable end results in terms of student success, achievement, and/or performance
Strategies: articulation of bold initiatives through which organization will achieve mission

Members of the Strategic Plan Steering Committee are:
Kevin Anderson: Admin
Mark Angelini: Parent
Sue Bridge: Community
Helen Chang: Teacher
Jamee Cichosz: Teacher Assistant
Connie Collins: Admin
Dawn Deaton: Teacher
Julieann Dunn: Teacher
Dan Duran: Local 73
Michelle Harton: BOE
John Hodge: Admin
Stephen Huth: Community
Lisa Keefe: Community
Peggy Kell: Teacher
Melissa Koenig: Parent
Jackie Moore: Parent
Linda Moseley: Secretary
Peter Power: Parent
Maureen Powers: Sch Nurse
Kathleen Priceman: Teacher
Dina Ross: Parent
Deacon Samuels: Community
Carolyn Newberry Schwartz: BOE
Tom Sindelar: Admin
Bob Spatz: Community
Deborah Wess: Parent
Carol Young: Principal
Alt: Julie Blankemeier: BOE

Results of the focus group sessions and staff, student and parent surveys will provide vital statistics for the team. Following the first planning session, Dr. Collins and members of the planning team will present the draft plan to Oak Park stakeholders. An all-call for action team members will also take place at this time. The action teams will work January through March to develop action plans to fulfill the strategies.The SPSC will then reconvene to review the plan and prepare it for presentation to the board for approval. Once approved, every aspect of the sytem will be aligned with the strategic intent, developing mutual expectations and commitments by all involved in the implementation of the plan.

10/4/06

For Immediate Release
District 97 Strategic Planning Underway

Strategic Planning is underway, and the District 97 Board of Education is seeking input from all community stakeholders.

COMMUNITY SURVEY: The District 97 Community Input Team of marketing and outreach professionals has developed a community survey that will be available on-line soon. The survey takes no more than twenty minutes to complete and will provide valuable information about priorities related to current school programming and future initiatives. I'll be sending you the link in the next several days. We'll also be sending out a postcard to alert all of our non-school residents, and we'll have copies at the Oak Park Library, District 200, Parks, and Village Hall. The survey has been generously provided by: Zagnoli McEvoy Foley,
Communications Consulting, 401 N. Michigan Ave. Suite 1100 Chicago, IL 60611 312.494.1700 www.zmf.com

FOCUS GROUP SESSIONS: The CIT has also scheduled a series of focus groups that will take place 7:00 - 9:00 PM in a Town Hall format in our middle school auditoriums the week of October 16. Monday October 16 and Tuesday October 17 sessions will be held at Brooks Middle School for residents in those school attendance areas, Wednesday October 18 and Thursday October 19 sessions will be held at Julian Middle School for residents in those areas. However, parents and community members can attend any one of the four sessions. Please join us for these Important conversations thatwill help guide the direction of District 97 in the coming years.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT GAIL CRANTZ, 524-3006

9/1/06

We're poised once again to embark on a strategic planning process that will guide our work in the coming years. Why now? It's been 17 years since our last strategic plan was developed. Since that time, our leadership has changed, our families have changed, and our financial picture has changed. With all of these changes, it is our responsibility to our community to determine if our collective values have changed so that we can focus on agreed upon priorities and direct our resources appropriately. Strategic Planning also engages a new generation of leaders, and we're hoping that you will become involved.

Dr. Bill Cook of The Cambridge Group, will help facilitate this process. We'll becoming to your schools this fall to talk to you in detail about the process and to tell you about specific ways you can help, some of which are included here:

1) A volunteer Community Input Team has been working over the summer months to create a survey instrument for our stakeholders. We'll let you know when it's ready and ask that you take the time to complete it.

2) The team is now seeking volunteers with expertise in data entry and/or computer hosting/programming. to assist once the survey has been distributed. Please contact gcrantz@op97.org by September 15 if you can assist with this project.

3) Focus group sessions are being arranged at our schools, dates and times to be posted on our website soon.

4) Action teams will be convened in the spring to address each strategic priority.

An expanded Steering Committee of parents and staff will begin its work in November. I'll keep you posted via listserv and on our website about events and activities around this important initiative. We'll also have a spot on our website for your general comments as we move forward.

Community Input Team (CIT)

Home /|\ Purpose /|\ CIT charge /|\ CIT members /|\ Timeline

School Climate Surveys| Achievement Gap ISAT data by Gender/Income

Action Plan Team Volunteer Form

The next step in the process is to convene an action team for each of the seven strategies identified. Each team will be comprised of 20 or more members. Action Team Leaders, trained by our Cambridge facilitator, will lead the work of the team from January - May to map out action steps to implement each strategy. These action steps will be reviewed by the SPSC and then the entire plan will be brought for board approval in May.

The time commitment for action team members will be about 30 hours. Help shape the future of our district by creating plans that will help us realize our highest aspirations for our children. We need your help! Please fill out if you are interested in serving on these teams and return to Gail Crantz, via email, regular mail, or drop off at Admin Building. MS Word format or PDF format

Action team leaders met in a four-hour workshop January 11. They will meet with their team members at a committee of the whole at Julian Middle School, Wednesday, January 17, 7:30 PM. Teams will work through mid May to develop plans to fulfill the strategies identified by the Strategic Plan Steering Committee last November. Volunteers are still welcome to join the teams. No experience required. Commitment will be about 30 hours. Contact gcrantz@op97.org or call 524-3006 for more info.