Examples

Examples of Standards and Accountability Approaches

Strategic Objective Graduation to Excellence. Because we are embarking on a major collaborative with St. Cloud State University to improve access of all students to post-secondary education, the Board Development Committee briefly discussed a strategic objective in the area of graduating to excellence. It is provide here to provide an example of an objective that might serve as a focus for a district or board goal that would then be tied to an accountability piece. The Graduation to Excellence strategic objective is an example of a strategic objective around which the district could mobilize resources.

Balanced Scorecard Approach: (Balanced Scorecard Website). The balanced scorecard is a strategic planning and management system that is used extensively in business and industry, government, and nonprofit organizations worldwide to align business activities to the vision and strategy of the organization, improve internal and external communications, and monitor organization performance against strategic goals. It was originated by Drs. Robert Kaplan (Harvard Business School) and David Norton as a performance measurement framework that added strategic non-financial performance measures to traditional financial metrics to give managers and executives a more 'balanced' view of organizational performance.

TeamWorks International: This is Dennis Cheesebrow's planning organization. Administrators are considering the possibility of using him to assist in their professional development planning process.

Example of Balanced Scorecard: Link takes you to one vision of what a balanced scorecard might look like for District 742. Keep in mind that the particular goals selected in this scorecard are examples only. The actual select of goals and objectives included in the scorecard comes only after a process that involves stakeholders.

Minneapolis Public Schools Strategic Planning Objectives "In May 2007, the Minneapolis Public Schools, including its Board of Education, began a strategic planning process to address some of our District’s biggest and most complex issues.
A team comprised of representatives from the district’s many stakeholder groups and members of the board, with the donated support of consultants from McKinsey & Company, gained a thorough understanding of the current situation of K-12 public education in Minneapolis by: 1. Collecting input from a wide variety of stakeholders including parents, students, teachers, principals, and the community at large. 2. Analyzing the district’s financial, student achievement, and student enrollment data and projections. 3. Studying reform initiatives undertaken in other districts around the country to learn from their experiences. Based on the information collected during this phase, the team identified the major issues the district needed to address, and developed options for potential solutions. Input on potential solutions was sought in neighborhood meetings, meetings with teachers, and other conversations throughout the community. The feedback helped shape a set of recommendations that were developed in conjunction with work on initiatives currently in process such as the magnet school study, school closings and program changes. In November, the team presented nine draft recommendations that the team believed would best address the challenges of the district and put MPS on the path to meeting the overall goal: to ensure that every child in the city is ready for college. The nine recommendations, which will serve as the framework of the strategic plan, are grouped in three broad categories: Increase equity, expectations and achievement; focus resources; and strengthen relationships. The Board unanimously approved a final version of the nine recommendations in December. The strategic plan was presented to the Board on March 11, 2008. Detailed action plans will be developed in phases to ensure that each recommendation is well-executed and measured for success over the next several years.
St. Paul Public Schools Strategic Plan: "Saint Paul Public Schools is excited to present the 2006-2011 Strategic Plan for Continued Excellence. This will guide the work of the district and our hope is that you will use this plan to inform yourself and to then hold us accountable for accomplishing the goals we have agreed upon in this document. The five-year plans is a culmination of months of intensive staff planning and research, supported by extensive input from the community.

The plan addresses five goals, 10 strategies and 12 measurable outcomes, all tied directly to improving student achievement. The district will measure its progress using 122 specific action steps outlined in a supporting Implementation Guide. This guide includes a 2006 Spring Data Guide, which informed our decisions, and a glossary of term
Osseo School District Strategic Plan Adopted in 2007. (PDF Format)