Strategic planning is a systematic process of defining goals and then devising a plan to achieve those goals. When complete, a well-defined strategic plan should paint a clear picture of what the future looks like for your school, district, or project and then outline the path you will take to get there.
A nimble and clear strategic plan can be transformative for education: aligning action, inspiring educators, and maximizing positive impacts on students and stakeholders. RTI International is an independent, nonprofit research institute dedicated to improving the human condition by turning knowledge into practice. RTI’s Center for Education Services can guide your district through a process to develop a new strategic plan that builds on what has worked over the last five years, identifies state and national trends in education, broadens support opportunities, and identifies intentional strategies to increase impact.
Schools and districts that implement well-designed strategic plans gain buy-in from internal and external stakeholders about their goals, which in turn promotes significantly more success in achieving those goals. Essentially, a stellar strategic plan gets everybody in the same boat, with the right equipment, all rowing in the same direction.
Project Examples
RTI partners with innovative schools, districts, states, and organizations to address education challenges. Here we highlight two of those partnerships.
Loudon County Public School System
RTI supported the Loudoun County School Board with the design of a new strategic plan focused on equity and inclusion that will guide the Division through it’s next five years. The climate in Loudoun County at the time was politically charged. Amid this contentious environment, the RTI team facilitated dialogue and discussion in a nonpartisan and nonconfrontational manner that kept key partners focused on a carefully crafted question: what should be true of Loudoun County students by 2027? The team balanced the need to have tightly structured, productive conversations with the Board’s desire to hear from constituents. Strong facilitation and conflict management skills were key to the success of this partnership.
Communities Foundation of Texas
RTI supports the Communities Foundation of Texas, a Texas-based education organization, to advance economic mobility, promote equity, and create thriving communities in North Texas. Using a community of practice (CoP) design model, foundation grantees engage with academic research and regional trends, identify and share best practices, and use data to explore and highlight successes and challenges to implementation. The CoP serves as a platform for participants to set strategic goals, create measurable action plans, and implement continuous improvement cycles to study, evaluate, and realign those goals. Combined, these activities contribute to the overall achievement of grantees’ desired outcomes and to the larger goals of CFT. The CoP strategic planning model helps collectively address common problems of practice and to advance identified priorities by sharing resources and member expertise.
Strategic Consulting Experts
Our Education Services team is led by former teachers, principals, administrators, policy experts, and strategists who have the practical experience to translate ideas into action.
Michael Martin
Strategic Consulting Program Director
Center for Education Services
Mike Martin is a managing consultant at RTI International whose expertise includes K-12 education policy and K-12 instruction. Prior to joining RTI, Martin...
Expert in Strategic Planning
K-12 Policy Implementation
Kyle Canuette
Education Consultant
Center for Education Services
W. Kyle Canuette is an education consultant and research education analyst with RTI International’s Center for Education Services. He has over a decade of...
Expert in Strategic Planning
Expert in Education Policy
Resources
Questions?
Contact Education Services
at educationservices@rti.org
