Strategic planning is the process of setting goals, deciding on actions to achieve those goals

and mobilizing the resources needed to take those actions. A strategic plan describes how
goals will be achieved through the use of available resources.
Strategic planning in education

School leaders are bombarded with techniques, solutions, and methods purporting to help
their organizations improve performance, quality, and stakeholder satisfaction. However,
strategy is necessary to identify and execute actions that will lead to the realization of the
desired future. Schools often develop long-range plans; however this process generally involves
making decisions about the future based on present data. School planning tends toward internal
analysis, toward planning as a separate institutional function. Long-range planning assumes a
closed system within which organizational five- and ten-year plans could be constructed.
Conversely, strategic planning is a disciplined, research-based method of inquiry that allows
school districts to create their own futures through rigorous organization assessment and long-
range planning, followed by operational execution. Strategic planning focuses on the internal
and external environment, quantitative and qualitative information, decisions regarding resource
commitments, and on integrated, participatory involvement. Strategic planning assumes an open
system in which organizations are dynamic and constantly changing as they integrate
information from shifting environmental factors. A strategic plan is a document that articulates
the organization’s mission and vision, as well as the goals and objectives needed to achieve the
vision. A strategic plan provides the framework and guidance for organizations to fulfill their
missions with optimal efficiency and impact. Strategic planning is also a cyclical process that,
through consistent monitoring and realignment with strategically agreed-upon values and goals,
is continually implemented, evaluated, and revised in order to improve student achievement and
district performance.

Mission, Vision, & Guiding Principles

The mission is reviewed and a vision for the future and guiding principles for decision making
emerge through research and analysis. By the end of the strategic planning process, the renewed
mission, vision, and guiding principles will articulate and document the organization’s reason
for being, its aspirations, core beliefs, and philosophies.

Research Findings

Data are collected and synthesized in the context of the district’s mission, vision, and guiding
principles and articulated into research findings. External trends and government regulations are
considered as well.

Strategic Goals

Strategic goals are extracted from the research findings. Strategic goals are broad, long-term
aims that operationalize the District’s mission and vision into general intentions that reflect the
desired future position of the organization.

Objectives
The objectives are tangible strategies necessary to accomplish the strategic goals while staying
true to the mission, vision, and guiding principles. Strategies may positively impact more than
one goal area.
Tactics & Implementation Plan

Upon approval of the strategic plan, specific actions and timelines necessary to achieve the
goals and objectives are developed. As the model suggests, it is the role of the administration to
develop the implementation plan that delineates the steps and timelines necessary to achieve the
goals.

Execution

After the implementation plan is finalized, administration should develop the information
systems necessary to monitor adherence, including the development of a dashboard to highlight
progress on key performance indicators linked to the strategic plan.

Benefits of Strategic Planning

There are many reasons school districts turn to strategic planning. Some districts have a rich
history of documenting and monitoring values-based goals. For these districts, strategic
planning is a continuation and updating of their traditional systems. Other districts turn to
strategic planning when faced with the potential and challenge of new leadership, to address
changing student populations, or to end a cycle of ineffective management and programming.
For these districts, the strategic planning process provides a values-based, systematic approach
to re-assess community values and planning for the future. Academic literature offers other
significant benefits that are derived from a successful strategic planning process, including
those on the following list.
 Establishes a vision, mission, and beliefs for the school district
 Relates organizational capacity to community need
 Raises board members’ awareness of current issues and operations
 Establishes a path to accomplish its desired future
 Creates a document suitable for public relations
 Provides a path which allows the community to work together to accomplish the goals,
objectives, and activities that constitute the strategic plan
 Gives the school district better control over external forces and the ability to anticipate
and/or react to them
 Allows the school district to set specific data-driven priorities  Serves as a tool for decision
making and resource allocation

School Improvement Plan (SIP)

The School Improvement Plan (SIP) is a roadmap that lays down specific interventions that a
school, with the help of the community and other stakeholders, will undertake within a period
of three consecutive school years. The implementation of development activities integral to it
are in the school such as projects under the Continuous Improvement Program (CIP), the
creation and mobilization of Learning Action Cells (LACs), and the preparation of the School
Report Card (SRC). SIP seeks to provide those involved in school planning an evidence-based,
systematic approach with the point of view of the learner as the starting point. Ultimately, it is
envisioned to help schools reach the goal of providing access to quality education.
The SRC is a tool for advocating and communicating the school situation, context, and
performance to internal and external stakeholders. Its objective is to increase the participation
and involvement of the community and other stakeholders in making the school a better place
for learning.

The School Improvement Plan (SIP) Guidebook is provided which details the procedure in
preparing the enhanced SIP and SRC. The enclosed guidelines and the Guidebook shall serve as
the official reference in the preparation and implementation of the SIP and SRC. Concerned
offices, local government units (LGUs), and development partners are urged to conform to
these guidelines as they implement projects and activities related to school planning in DepEd
schools.

Schools shall begin a new SIP cycle using the enhanced planning process in these guidelines by
January 2016 (the start of the SIP cycle). The regional offices (ROs) and schools division
offices (SDOs) are expected to create support mechanisms for the schools and to orient them
before January 2016. Schools are asked to begin using the SIP Guidebook to update their
current Annual Improvement Plan (AIP) and to create the SRC
.
The participation and involvement of the school head, teachers, and staff in the planning and
implementation of the SIP and SRC may be included in the Results-Based Performance
Management System (RPMS) as performance objectives under corresponding Key Result
Areas. It can be incorporated in the Individual Performance Commitment and Review Form
(IPCRF) of teachers and staff or in the Office Performance Commitment and Review Form
(OPCRF) of the school head.
Planning and implementation of school improvement projects that address problems related to
the teaching-learning processes should involve the members of the school’s LACs. In the same
way, activities of LACs should be aligned to the SIP or AIP. LAC members may also include
reports of their activities in the SRC.

Based on our experiences, here are five key elements of an effective school improvement plan.
1. Start with a vision
What should your vision for improvement look like? This will be different for every school or
district, but you’ll need to establish a common definition that will guide your improvement
efforts. In other words, what are you looking to achieve—and how will you define success?
2. Conduct a needs assessment
To get from point A to point B, you have to know not only where you’re going, but also where
you’re starting from. That requires an honest assessment of your current practices and results.
Begin with a comprehensive needs assessment that accurately gauges your strengths,
weaknesses, and areas for improvement. Tools that can help you assess your needs include
student achievement data, classroom walkthrough information, and surveys of students, parents,
teachers, and administrators.
Don’t be afraid to confront hard realities. Sound decision making relies on having a clear
picture of the facts.
3. Identify goals and objectives
Once you have a clear sense of where you are now, you can begin mapping out a strategy for
progressing to where you want to be. Your plan should include concise, measurable, and
achievable goals and objectives that will lead you on the path to success.
For example, suppose your needs assessment determines that some students are struggling
because they are bored, frustrated, or overwhelmed with the pace of instruction. You also
discover that many students are failing to see the relevance of what they are learning.
To address these problems, you might establish the following goals:
(1) implement more personalized learning to meet every student at an appropriate level of
 instruction;
(2) connect what students are learning to authentic, real-world tasks; and
(3) use a variety of formative assessment strategies to verify students’ understanding before
advancing to a new topic.
Limiting your objectives can yield better results, faster. Because time and resources are
always limited, the best course of action is to focus on the most important goals, the ones that
are going to make the largest impact. This point has been echoed by numerous researchers.
“The common pattern in schools is for leaders to implement multiple new initiatives in an
attempt to address a broad range of problems. In trying to solve everything at once, nothing gets
the attention it really needs, and ultimately nothing gets solved,” wrote Trent Kaufman, Emily
Grimm, and Allison Miller in their book Collaborative School Improvement.
4. Outline specific action steps
One of the most common roadblocks that repeatedly prevents districts from achieving
success is that their plan is not actionable.
A strong vision and a list of goals and objectives is not enough. You also need to outline what
you will do to achieve those goals. Without specific action steps to guide your progress, your
plan will falter.
Successful school districts map out strategies for every employee, making sure each person
understands his or her role in fulfilling the plan.
5. Involve all stakeholders in the process
Research shows that strategies developed collaboratively become more widely supported
and adopted—and that the most effective leaders know how to listen to their constituents.
According to Collins, the most successful organizations “create a culture wherein people have a
tremendous opportunity to be heard.” He observes that great leadership “means having the
humility to grasp the fact that you do not yet understand enough to have the answers—and then
to ask questions that will lead to the best possible insights.”
Develop a process that involves all stakeholders—teachers, administrators, students, parents,
and community leaders—in establishing a vision, setting goals, and outlining action steps.
Solicit feedback throughout the process, and listen to what your stakeholders have to say.

SUBMITTED BY: Jerome T. Gonzales

SUBMITTED TO: Mrs. Marivic Somejo, Ph. D