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Ask the Board Services Team – Why is a strategic plan important?
A Benefit of ASBA Membership
By Julie Bacon, ASBA Leadership Development Manager
Question: Why is a strategic plan important?
Answer: ASBA is excited to introduce a new service to our member districts – strategic planning. Our strategic planning service helps governing board and superintendent teams develop a strategic direction for their district. A strategic plan is the roadmap your district uses to ensure the success of every student in the system. Harvard Business School Online (“Why Is Strategic Planning Important” October 2020) states “Strategic planning can benefit your organization’s vision, execution, and progress toward goals.”
Our strategic planning service consists of eight stages of planning including a level set where the board and superintendent team begin the process with a clear understanding of the purpose, anatomy and timeline of a strategic plan.
In the middle stages of the process, members of the district’s community work together to create focus areas and overarching goals for the strategic plan. An emphasis on gathering data from students, staff, parents and community members via surveys and focus groups allows the planning teams to incorporate the feedback of its most important stakeholders, the community you serve.
With an understanding of the present and a vision for the future, a strategic plan will illuminate the way forward through goals and measurable actions. Not just a document you create, a strategic plan is an active tool that focuses the work of all members of the district’s community and provides the direction needed to ensure every student is successful. The ASBA service also allows for ongoing support to monitor and revamp the plan as needed.
ASBA is committed to helping districts reach their peak potential. With board oversight and staff and community involvement, a strategic plan is a powerful tool to ensure a lifetime of success for your students.
If you have questions about the strategic planning service, please reach out to Julie Bacon at jbacon@azsba.org or call our office at 602-254-1100.
Share your priorities at County Conversations at SLI
Board members and superintendents are encouraged to discuss issues that are important to them during County Conversations that will be held at Summer Leadership Institute on Saturday, June 10 from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.
These discussions are another way to advocate on behalf of your school district communities and identify top priority areas ASBA should focus on. Your input and feedback are important to ASBA.
Get ready for Chartwells’ salsa contest at SLI!
Fred Nimoh and Chandler Supt. Franklin Narducci
Bring your favorite recipe and get ready for the create-your-own salsa contest sponsored by Chartwells at Summer Leadership Institute on Friday, June 9 from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. Chartwells will provide all the ingredients for the competition.
Chartwells serves nutritious, kid-approved food and innovative programs, and is dedicated to serving up happy and healthy to every student, every day.
Chartwells sponsors SLI keynote speaker Frank Kitchen who will share how to “Build Your Recipe for Leadership Success” and take part in the salsa competition.
For more information about Summer Leadership Institute, please see the ASBA website.
Meet Yuma County Director Juan Castillo
Throughout the year Connect will highlight your ASBA Board of Directors and content from the Journal. This week, learn a little more about why Yuma County Director Juan Castillo serves his community.
School is out, but history isn’t
School is out for the summer, but school board members interested in learning about the history behind why May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, can find out more at ASBA’s Resources page.
There you can find information on the history of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month as well as educational resources you can share with your teachers about influential and historic figures, and books to better understand the month, classroom lesson plans, learning activities, a teacher guide, units of study, identity-based curriculum modules as well as board resolutions, social media graphics, key news articles and government relations materials.
Want to involve students in your new leader search? ASBA Executive Search can help
If you’re seeking to get your students and your community members involved in your superintendent search, ASBA Executive Search can help you with that. ASBA Executive Search partnered with Creighton School District’s Governing Board to host a student forum as part of their search for a new superintendent.
Creighton School District extends a warm welcomes to newly selected Supt. Jay Mann, who has been the district’s chief of business operations and development for the past eight years and previously served as an administrator for Madison ESD, Paradise Valley USD and Cave Creek USD.
Creighton School District Supt. Jay Mann
“I am deeply honored to have been chosen to continue to serve the Creighton District Community. This community of amazing students, families, educators and staff have become a true extension of my family and are very near and dear to my heart. I know that together, we can continue the great work happening in the Creighton School District,” Supt. Mann said.
In the past fiscal year, ASBA Executive Search helped governing boards in 11 Arizona school districts, including Creighton, find their new leader. Whether you’re a small, rural district or a district in downtown Phoenix, ASBA can assist you in finding the best candidates.
ASBA Executive Search is your one-stop-shop for superintendent searches. From helping your board become search ready, to launching a statewide or nationwide search, to assisting you with a smooth transition post-search – we’ve got you covered. ASBA offers a wide range of search services, from comprehensive searches to fill a current or future superintendent position, to assisting governing boards seek an interim superintendent when necessary.
ASBA Executive Search is currently searching for a superintendent for Littlefield Unified School District and Sedona-Oak Creek Unified School District, and has assisted in searches this past year for Creighton, Naco, Sacaton, Quartzsite, Roosevelt, Tonto Basin and Clarkdale-Jerome Elementary School Districts as well as Ray, Ganado and Prescott Unified School Districts.
ASBA Events and Webinars
Upcoming ASBA Events
Trauma Sensitive Schools Symposium (Virtual)
June 6, 2023 8 a.m. – 3 p.m. (Registration open)
Summer Leadership Institute
June 8 – 10, 2023 (Registration open)
In-Person New Board Member Orientation Part Two
June 8, 2023 (Registration open)
Tri-County Convening: Focusing on the Priorities that Unite Us
(This event will be held in conjunction with ASBA Summer Leadership Institute on Saturday, June 10)
June 10, 2023 9 a.m.- 10 a.m.
ASBA 47th Annual Law Conference
Sept. 6, 2023 – Sept. 8, 2023 (Save the dates)
ASBA County meetings 2023
Sept. 18, 2023 – Nov. 2, 2023
ASBA-ASA 66th Annual Conference
Dec. 6, 2023 – Dec. 8, 2023 (Save the dates)
View all ASBA events on the ASBA website.