For nine months, the school board, administration, and representatives from key groups in our school district were involved in the process of creating a new Strategic Plan for Northern York County School District. The process began in January 2014 and followed a process outlined in the book, The Leaders Guide to 21st Century Education (by Ken Kay and Valerie Greenhill).
- ADOPT (January): The School Board and Administrators held a Saturday retreat to adopt the process for strategic planning and discuss our vision for NYCSD’s future.
- ENGAGE (March and April): We then began to engage representatives from key groups in and around our District. These included community members, parents, business leaders, teachers, support staff, and high school students. During the individual sessions with each “Engagement Group,” we discussed the strengths, and weaknesses of NYCSD as well opportunities we could take advantage of and threats that keep us from reaching our intended goals. We also introduced the 4 C’s to each group (Creativity, Collaboration, Communication, and Critical Thinking) as the foundation for ALL of our work.
- REFINE (May): At a meeting at the Maple Shade Barn in Dillsburg, representatives from each of the Engagement Groups came together to analyze the work of each Engagement Group. This “Refining Group” worked to find trends and common themes in the work generated by the dozens of individuals in March and April. In a one-day work session, the Refining Group helped to develop a Mission Statement, Vision Statement and Strategic Values for the District.
- ALIGN (June and July): The work then came back to the administration as they developed Goals and Objectives to align with the mission, vision and shared values. Partnered into “Alignment Groups,” the administrators (who had been a part of the previous three steps) used what they had learned from these sessions to build the plan for the future. Six Strategic Goals were created based on the themes communicated throughout the process. Under each goal, several objectives were developed defining how we will accomplish each goal.
- IMPLEMENT (August): The School Board received the work of the Refining and Alignment groups. At the August 21, 2014 Board Meeting, the School Board approved the Strategic Plan and set in motion the next steps of implementing the plan. The Goals and Objectives will then become the “jumping off point” for Action Plans that each building and/or department will develop. These action plans will be “fluid,” meaning they may change from year to year as we work to achieve what our District and the community feels is important for a 21st Century education.
This process was intense, but extremely rewarding. This Strategic Plan is not time sensitive (i.e. it is not a five year plan or a ten year plan). It is meant to be on going and able to be adjusted at any point in the process. Thank you to all who participated in the process to keep moving NYCSD in a forward direction, fully prepared to ensure that our students are intellectually prepared, civically engaged, and personally responsible.
Click on the links below for the complete Strategic Plan document.
