The strategic plan for Mountain Brook Schools is the framework that insures that the system’s purpose and strategic goals guide improvement efforts throughout the system in a way which is consistent with our values.

So how does this conceptual framework translate into practice in Mountain Brook Schools?  At its December meeting, the Board of Education adopted a purpose statement for our system that states, “The purpose of Mountain Brook Schools is to provide an effective, challenging, and engaging education for every one of our students.”  This is the preferred future that drives everything we do.  Every curriculum decision, every professional development opportunity, every purchase of technology, everything we do is evaluated in terms of whether that action will enhance or impede our progress toward realizing our purpose.  This purpose statement also helps all of us see the interconnectedness and common focus of all the various efforts that are going on in our schools.  Without it, all the activity in a school can feel like a jumble of separate and unrelated tasks.

Continuous improvement doesn’t just happen; it has to be sustained through a disciplined process that sets clear goals, identifies specific steps to be taken, and measures results.  In our school system, that process takes the form of improvement plans at the system level, school improvement plans at each school, and the work of groups of teachers in professional learning communities (PLC’s).  Often there is a very direct alignment between a system level goal, a school improvement goal, and the goal of a particular PLC.  For instance, improving elementary students’ writing skills may be a specific goal in system, school, and PLC improvement plans. 

In other cases, a goal may be the focus of work at only one level of the system.  For instance, a high school PLC in Language Arts may focus on the revision of a rubric for assessing research papers without that goal appearing at the school or system level.  Whatever the nature of a goal, its relationship to one or more system strategic goals and the system’s purpose must be clear, and its intent and implementation must be consistent with values that characterize our school system.

For several years now, we have stated these improvement goals in the format of “SMART” goals.  SMART goals are goals that are strategic and specific, measurable, attainable, results-driven, and timebound.  For instance, this year one elementary school has the following improvement goal:  “By the spring of 2009, ninety percent of all K-2 students will meet or exceed writing standards according to common assessments created by the kindergarten, first, and second grade teachers.”

This goal is strategic and specific in that it is directly related to an important part of our curriculum.  It is measurable, the teachers believe it is attainable, it is driven by the desired result of students becoming better writers, and it is timebound in that it will be implemented over a two-year period.  This format for writing improvement goals is in place for both system and local school improvement plans.

Once these improvement goals are identified, they become the focus of improvement efforts throughout the school system.  In every case, an action plan is developed that outlines steps to be taken, persons responsible, a timeline to insure that progress is made, and how progress will be measured.  Throughout the school year, these plans are the focus of discussions between principals and teachers, teachers and teachers, superintendent and principals, superintendent and central office leaders, and superintendent and Board.  At the end of each year, results for each improvement plan are formally reported to the superintendent and the Board of Education.

“Tremendous power exists in the fact of continued improvement and the delivery of results.  Point to tangible accomplishments – however incremental at first – and show how these steps fit into an overall concept that will work.  When you do this in such a way that people see and feel the buildup of momentum, they will line up with enthusiasm.”         -  Jim Collins, Good to Great

I find this quote from Jim Collins to be one that, in very few words, captures much of what I believe about leadership and about how schools get better.  First, it matches my belief that improvement usually comes over time in incremental steps rather than through frequent embracing of the “next new thing.”  It also touches on the importance of having an overarching vision that people inside the school system can hold in their minds as a way to make sense of the various efforts that make up our complexity.  And it reminds me of the reality that teachers will truly embrace an idea when they see results that convince them that the idea has benefits for their students.

ELEMENTS OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN

 PURPOSE:  The purpose of Mountain Brook Schools is to provide an effective, challenging, and engaging education 
for every one of our students.

 

VALUES

*  Respect for others
*  Caring environment
*  Trust
*  Focus on students
*  Effective communication
*  Learning
*  Shared decision-making
*  Innovation, creativity, risk-taking
*  Evaluation based on performance
*  Excellence
*  Expertise of staff
*  Community involvement

 

CONSTITUENT GROUPS

*  Students
*  School system personnel
*  Parents
*  Citizens
*  Colleges/post-secondary institutions
*  Potential employers
*  City, county, state and federal government

 

GOALS 
 

1. Develop and implement an effective, challenging, and engaging curriculum which promotes the highest level of academic excellence and personal growth for each student.
2. Ensure that each individual is prepared to become an independent, lifelong learner.
3. Effectively integrate the use of technology into all instructional and support programs.
4. Assist our students in gaining admission into the college of their choice.
5. Promote a safe, orderly environment free of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.
6. Provide a climate that recognizes diversity and encourages respect for all persons.
7. Recruit, hire and retain the most effective personnel.
8. Design, implement, and support an exemplary professional development program for all staff.
9. Design, implement, and support an exemplary performance evaluation program for all staff.
10. Empower all staff as leaders, enhancing site-based and shared decision-making.
11. Communicate effectively and efficiently with parents, students, community, and school personnel.
12. Effectively interface with other school systems and governments at all levels.
13. Secure financial resources necessary to achieve our goals and use the best management information practices to ensure fiscal responsibility.
14. Build, operate, and maintain facilities which will accommodate all programs and curricula of the school system.

Revised:  December 2007