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Strategic Plan, 2006-2012
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Planning Process

The overall planning process followed a modified Cambridge Planning Model and was coordinated by Dr. N. Robert Laws, Superintendent, and Strategic Plan Co-Chairs, Cheryl Winn Royer, Supervisor of Research and Evaluation, and Susan B. Race, House Principal, Central Bucks High School West.  Throughout the Strategic Planning process, staff and community members had access to a Strategic Plan link on the cbsd.org website.  This page contained a description of the process and the timeline; it was updated after each step was completed.

The Strategic Plan Steering Commitee met on November 9 and November 29, 2005, for the purpose of setting vision and direction.  Prior to those meetings, they received a packet of articles related to education for the 21st century:

  • "Learning for the 21st Century," Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2006, www.21stcenturyskill.org
  • "Preparing Students for the 21st Century," Kyle Peck, www.personal/psu.edu
  • "Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS Report)," US Deptartment of Labor, 1991
  • "enGauge 21st Century Skills: Helping Students Thrive in the Digital Age," North Central Regional Educational Lab, 2005, www.ncrel.org/engauge
  • "Preparing Students for the 21st Century," Donna Uchida, American Association of School Adminstrators, 1996

On November 9, using these readings as background, the Steering Committee met in small groups to answer the question "What do our students need to know and be able to do now that we have entered the 21st  century?"  They were able to do their collaborative brainstorming electronically, using laptops and projectors set up around the building.  Their brainstorming was instantly combined and displayed electronically as a basis for whole group discussion about the current strengths and weaknesses of our organization in preparing its students for life in a changing world.  Following this needs assessment, the group shaped ten tentative goal areas for future discussion.

On November 29, the Steering Committee returned to move from Vision Setting to Setting Direction.  Working in ten groups reflecting the ten tentative goal statements, the group spent several hours determining the direction they wanted each Action Team to pursue.  Task #1 asked them to set objectives within one goal area.  Task #2 asked them to review the other goal areas and help refine the objectives within each of them.  By the end of the evening, the Steering Committee had finalized nine goal areas and several defining objectives with each goal.

In December 2005, the work of the Steering Committee was reported to the CB staff as well as the entire community in several ways:  updating of the Strategic Plan link on the website, a Power Point developed for each building to view at a faculty meeting, the internal staff publication CB Close-Up, and the community publication CB Insight.

The work of the nine Action Teams began with a gala Kick-Off Event for Action Team Members on February 1, 2006, at CB High School West.  Feted by the senior high jazz band and inspired by the Assistant Superintendent's Kick-Off speech, the 250+ members who had volunteered to serve on Action Teams received their charge.  They saw nine goal statement and the preliminary objectives developed by the Steering Committee.  They saw samples of action plans from previous Strategic Plans and learned the components of a successful action plan.  That same evening, they had the opportunity to meet their team chairpersons, receive packets of background reading materials, and establish their schedule of meetings for February, March, April, and early May.  Most teams met every other week, sometimes assigning sub-committees to a specific research task.  Teams conducted research, did surveys as appropriate, interviewed district and community members, and began to turn the general directions of the Steering Committee into concrete Action Plans, replete with action steps, assignments, and start and end dates.  A typical action team member probably committed 10-20 hours to the planning process - some a good deal more.

By May 10, 2006, 76 action plans had been developed by the nine action teams.  These were presented to the Steering Committee in two evening sessions:  May 15 and May 22, 2006.  Using a rating protocol, committee members had to evaluate each plan as they heard it:  Approve, Approve with Reservations, Reject.  Following small group dialogue, each group submitted its evaluations.

Steering Committee recommendations resulted in a final set of 52 action plans.  These were shared with Administrative Council at their June Goal-Setting meeting so that administrators would be able to take them into consideration when planning cluster, building, and personal goals for school year 2006-07.

A summary of the Strategic Plan was presented to the Board of School Directors and the public in September, and the complete Strategic Plan - along with the Chapter 4 Compliance Documents - was adopted on September 26, 2006.

Following adoption, communication will take place with various audiences in a number ways:

  • Staff members will receive the Vision Document, a summary of the nine goals and their attending objectives and action plans.
  • Articles will appear in the staff newsletter CB Close-Up
  • Articles will appear in the community publication CB Insight
  • The Strategic Planning link on cbsd.org will be updated and maintained

Timeline:

  • November 2005:                        Steering Committee Work Sessions
  • December 2005:                        Development of Planning Teams
  • January 2006:                            Orientation for Planning Team Co-chairpersons
  • February 1, 2006:                       Kick-Off Meeting for all Planning Team members
  • Feb - May 10, 2006:                    Planning Teams meet to write Action Plans
  • May 15, 2006:                            Steering Committee Reviews Action Plans
  • May 22, 2006:                            Steering Committee Continues Review of Action Plans
  • Summer 2006:                            Writing of Strategic Plan Document
  • September 2006:                        Presentation to Board of School Directors
  • September 30, 2006:                  Submission to the PDE
  • 2006-07:                                   Year One of Implementation
  • 2008-09:                                   Mid Point Review of Strategic Plan
  • 2011-2012:                                Final Year of Strategic Plan