Education Planning Session Using Graphic Facilitation
Strategy Arts provides expanding charter school programs a range of options for growth planning support. Strategy Arts’ facilitated, collaborative approach enhances clients’ share in developing and delivering strategic growth plans. At Strategy Arts we believe in providing just the right amount of support to clients, helping them do as much as possible themselves so they learn by doing, developing a plan informed by analysis that they truly own and can communicate clearly both inside and outside the organization.
So that each client can choose the most appropriate level of service, we have organized our offerings into a Planning Management base program, a Comprehensive Planning program and a supporting range of à la Carte services.
The stakeholder meetings in the Planning Management program (Scope Planning and Impact and Strategic Initiatives Planning) and the research components of the Comprehensive Planning program are also available as À La Carte service offerings.
The Planning Management Base Program
We have designed our Planning Management base program to support charter school staff and boards through the research, critical decision-making and implementation activities required to achieve their growth goals – “From Planning to Action.”
We facilitate a collaborative planning process that guides and advises the planning team in the creation of a stakeholder-supported plan underpinned by a strong case for growth. Key stakeholders are engaged throughout the process to identify all options available and to ensure that stakeholder input is appropriately considered. As a result, the planning team is able to create a robust, broadly supported plan.
The base planning program provides four key planning services with overall project management that guides clients through the planning process:
• Project Scoping (Stakeholder Interviews and Workshop)
• Research Planning
• Impact and Strategic Initiatives Development (Stakeholder Interviews and Workshop)
• Operational Planning Process Definition
The Planning Management base program is recommended for clients who need help launching and guiding a strategic planning process that will predominantly be carried out by internally available resources.
Project Management
Maintaining alignment of vision, pace, attention to tasks at hand and accountability for those tasks is essential in managing a successful planning process that efficiently uses limited resources. Over the estimated three-month course of a Planning Management base program, Strategy Arts provides regular project management meetings, communications and schedule management.
If relevant, we also provide our clients with a complete outline for their strategic plan to help them kick start their plan drafting. We start by reviewing our pre-developed strategic plan outline with clients, discussing with the planning team each item and its reason for inclusion. As a part of these discussions, we identify additional required plan items based on the client’s particular situation and incorporate those items into a client-specific plan outline.
Our Comprehensive Planning Program
Our Comprehensive Planning program includes the Planning Management base program as well as several research-based offerings that are typically found in a strategic plan for growth:
• Historical Performance Summary Report
• Preliminary Financial Model
• Population & Demographic Analysis
• Local & Regional School Environmental Analysis
• Teacher Talent Pool Assessment
• Funding Source Evaluation
• Facility Planning Options
• Academic Program Design
• Strategic Plan Drafting Options
For each research offering, we collect and analyze publicly available data and data provided by the client. We summarize the results in a report that includes graphical and narrative presentation of the data and recommendations for their use in the strategic planning process.
The Comprehensive Planning program is designed for clients who need a full-service planning program that will engage their stakeholders and deliver a ready-for-action plan without placing a heavy burden on internal resources.
Strategy Arts welcomes discussion of the rendering of additional or alternative services in related areas. As with all services, pricing is negotiated with the client on a case-by-case basis.
