Strategic Planning:

Education agencies become what choices people make over a long period of time. They are shaped by the decisions we make or fail to make. Some are made with knowledge about their impacts, but others are not. Some lead to unanticipated outcomes. But, the lack of a decision also has consequences. The strategic plan is a useful tool for any community that wishes to change and grow.

Strategic Planning is managing for results. It is defined as a long-term, future-oriented process of assessment, goal setting, and strategy building that map an explicit path between the present and a vision of the future. It is a disciplined effort to produce fundamental decisions and actions that shape and guide what an agency is, what it does, and why it does it. Because strategic planning is a team effort that builds consensus on a future direction for an agency, the process itself is more important than the resulting document.