Strategic Framework Recalibration

Making MMSD’s Vision and Goals a Reality: The Strategic Framework Recalibration

MMSD’s Strategic Framework, adopted in 2018, guides the district’s work and outlines our collective vision and goals as a school district. It’s our roadmap to accelerate learning, close opportunity gaps, and ensure all of our scholars thrive. It details our vision, goals, core values, strategy, and specific actions we are taking as a district to raise achievement.

To realize our district vision where every school will be a thriving school that prepares students to graduate ready for college, career, and community, we are taking an intentional and comprehensive look at our Strategic Framework. This work began in August 2022 and continued during the 2022-2023 school year. Recalibration efforts have been temporarily paused for the 2023-2024 school year until a permanent superintendent is hired.

View our Current Framework

Vision for the Future - 2040 and Beyond

During the 2022-2023 school year, work was underway to review the current Framework. The district partnered with a dynamic consultancy firm to engage stakeholders in the recalibration process. This next iteration of the Strategic Framework and implementation plan is intended to move the district forward through 2040.

Identifying what successfully attaining the goals will look like, sound like and feel like for stakeholders is critical. These success criteria will inform what will be measured and provide meaningful benchmarks to assess progress toward the goals, adjust implementation, assess for improvement and ensure intended impact for students, staff and the community.

On March 22, 2023, the Joint Venture consultancy firm provided a summary report to the Board of Education, outlining the work of Phase One. Four themes emerged from analyses of current data and information collected from feedback sessions, phone calls, and other written communications.

The four themes that emerged are:

(Re)Commitment to Strategic Framework and Goals
Leverage existing strengths and opportunities for growth towards achieving strategic framework goals
Current leadership and cultural challenges to changing system outcome
Ensure the district has the fiscal and human resources to engage in and to sustain prioritized strategies.

Recommended Next Steps: Start building the roadmap for implementation, improvement and impact In order to transition from having a strategic framework to using the strategic framework. This initial work will include pivoting from focusing on what the district does to how the district will collectively engage in, measure, improve and communicate what it does.

Phase One Summary Report

Strategic Framework Recalibration Process

The recalibration of MMSD’s Strategic Plan is organized into four phases that align with implementation and improvement sciences.

Phase 1: Where are We Now (August 2022-Fall 2022)

Phase I is centered on understanding where the district is now (what is currently done, for whom and why) and where the district wants to be. To understand the desired future, we assessed the current needs and wants of MMSD stakeholders, stakeholders’ perspectives and buy-in about the current strategic framework goals, and evaluated internal and external factors that enable or prevent the district from meeting those needs and/or goals.

Develop a leadership team to align and integrate MMSD’s strategic framework recalibration efforts;
Gather stakeholder input. This includes outreach to staff, community partners, families, and youth with intentional engagement of youth and families who have been marginalized by the system;
Review current documents, stakeholder input and available data related to the strategic framework goals.

Phase One Summary Report

Phase 2: How We Get There (Fall 2022-Spring 2023)

Phase 2 involves co-creating with stakeholders a roadmap that defines the most important strategic objectives to deliver on organizational goals and the core programs, projects and processes to accomplish those strategies. Determine necessary resources.

Synthesize what was learned in Phase I and develop reports and recommendations for the leadership team;
Develop the roadmap for recalibration.
Identify resources to engage in high impact processes to attain strategic goals. This includes identifying work that is effective and that which has created tensions or barriers to goal attainment.

Phase 3: How We Get Started (Paused)

Establish teams and routines to do the work identified.
Build the capacity of the teams to install, implement and improve priority programs and projects.
Ensure measures exist at each level of the plan and accountability for targets to include coaching on the implementation and impacts of change on people and processes.
Install routines and iterative assessment practices for ongoing learning, implementation and improvement of practices aligned with strategic framework recalibration priorities.

Phase 4: How We Scale the Work (Paused)

Why now?

As stated above, our community and nation has experienced historic change. There is a need to:

Revisit the Strategic Framework that underpins the work of the district because outcomes have not been impacted since the Framework was originally developed.
Leverage what was learned during the pandemic to meet the needs of the community.
Clearly define the work aligned with the Strategic Framework.
Define and measure “success” through the perspective of stakeholders, including those who have been traditionally marginalized by the system.
Develop and use effective communication strategies to engage stakeholders.
Develop consistent ways of understanding and using the framework.
Understand and address current barriers to attaining the district’s goals.
Understand and leverage strengths within the district to attain the district’s goals.
Learn from experts who have successful experience designing, improving, and supporting administrators and educators in implementing inclusive, equitable, and just educational systems.
Develop a roadmap for implementing the recalibrated strategic plan as a sustainable path for the district and as a support for the next superintendent.

Two smiling elementary-aged students hold new books.

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