Co-creating a process that reflects the unique needs of the district.
Framing the district’s top priorities
Faced with a changing educational landscape and intensifying competition from charters and private schools, Northeast Independent School District (NEISD) was ready to rethink their strategic planning process. Upstream was engaged to design a new process that would reflect the unique needs of the district and overcome the shortcomings of the previous 5-year plan. To start, Upstream facilitated an input session with district office leadership and faculty across 80+ campuses. This session gathered views on the purpose of the district, gleaned insights on top priorities facing campuses and the district at large, and exposed the challenges team members faced while executing the previous plan. Upstream synthesized the inputs into a new vision statement and key pillars that served to anchor the new NEISD strategic planning process.
Co-creating a custom planning process for the district
The district’s strategic plan was complex and needed to be inclusive of a number of functioning elements (board goals, state requirements, district improvement plans, campus plans, division plans, department plans, etc.). Working with stakeholders across functional groups (curriculum, operations, campus leadership, professional development, etc.), Upstream developed a planning process that captured the needs of functional groups in a categorical way. The process provided a method for prioritizing needs, developing needs into goals and goals into outcomes to be measured across divisions. The process mapped out stages/timing for inputs, feedback loops, decision points and activities per stakeholder groups. Having a visual framework and process flow provided alignment among district stakeholders and guidance for where, when and what to contribute during the planning process.
Driving implementation of a new strategic plan
Along with the strategic planning process, Upstream co-created a companion implementation process to ensure all district actions were aligned with desired outcomes. In a world of accelerated change, long-term plans age quickly. To keep NEISD responsive to changing needs, Upstream designed a strategic roadmap that allowed for yearly assessments of progress and re-assessments of priorities. This flexibility improved efficiency in the district’s budgeting process and effectiveness in resource allocation across community and enterprise goals.
“Our new strategic planning process is customized to include inputs from stakeholders across the district, and it’s a dynamic structure, giving us the ability to keep it current as the needs of our district change over time.”
- Public School Administrator, Northeast Independent School District