The New Model for Planning?
September 21, 2010
In the September 15th edition of Education Week, Jacob Adams wrote an Op-Ed article about how the “Great Recession” is pounding America’s schools. He states,
Declining budgets have pushed district leaders to lay off teachers, shorten school years, and cancel summer programs. Their cost-cutting gymnastics have increased K-3 class sizes, closed libraries, and deferred maintenance. And while a leaky roof might not affect student performance overall, curricular and instructional losses cut at the heart of the educational enterprise.
Is there a bright side? Well, Ms. Adams asserts that it takes a crisis to open the door to new thinking and new opportunities. Based on the Michigan economy… the current climate qualifies as a crisis. His next statement gets at exactly what we are trying to do with our strategic framework that was officially adopted by the Board of Education at the September 14th meeting. He notes,
In brief, we argue that, for educators, a smart-money approach means adopting continuous improvement—the cycle of goal-setting, resource allocation, instruction, assessment, and analysis that tailors resources to school and classroom needs—as a core resource strategy for schools and districts, then making trade-offs that move resources from less-effective to more-effective uses.
Over the next several months, you will be learning more and providing feedback (for continuous improvement) about the framework as we share information about the four goal format and on how it supports the mission of Saline Area Schools which states:
We, the Saline Area Schools, will equip all students with the knowledge, technological proficiency, and personal skills necessary to succeed in an increasingly complex society.
We expect that our students, staff, and the Saline community will share in these responsibilities.
Our ultimate goal is to instill in our students a desire for lifelong learning.
Here is our mission in the form of a Wordle graphic
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