Strategic Plan

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Strategic Planning Background and Purpose

In fulfilling its mission, the Neighborhood Charter School’s board of directors engaged Matthews Consulting Group, LLC to manage and facilitate a strategic planning initiative, which formally began in December 2008 and is scheduled for conclusion in May 2009. In addition to planning, startup and ongoing project management, the strategic planning initiative includes three critical phases: execution of an environmental scan; execution of a strategic planning retreat to prioritize goals and begin strategy formulation; and development of strategic initiatives and project milestones.
To gain insight into the school’s current assets, challenges and priorities, Matthews Consulting Group engaged a broad spectrum of internal and external constituents in environmental scan activities, which included one-on-one interviews, focus group sessions, and an electronic survey. The Environmental Scan Report provides context for future planning and decision-making and will be reviewed in detail at the Strategic Planning Retreat in March 2009. The following executive summary provides a high level overview of the key ideas, findings and conclusions from the Environmental Scan.

Mission

Environmental scan participants were asked to share their perceptions of the Neighborhood Charter School’s mission. Overwhelmingly, all external constituent groups indicated that the current mission statement is directionally correct. Conversely, most internal constituents stated that the mission fails to describe “bedrock ideas” and that the current statement does not “describe ourselves in a way that is inviting and draws people to us.” Based on the comments of internal constituents, it is apparent that the strategic planning process provides an opportunity to revise the current mission statement, so that some of the key elements that make the Neighborhood Charter School unique are reflected.

Measures of Success

During the environmental scan process, participants were asked to share their perspective on how to measure NCS’ success against its mission. Although traditional indicators such as test scores and grades were acknowledged as important, parents and faculty/staff also evaluate performance based on non-traditional indicators that are harder to quantify and evaluate. The following categories were highlighted as areas in which success can and should be measured:

  • Constituent satisfaction
  • Formal assessments and standardized test
  • Quality of student work/depth of student learning
  • Diversity
  • Volunteer and community engagement
  • Organizational health
  • Teacher quality

Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT Analysis)

The following themes were identified from information gathered during the environmental scan activities and contain perceptions of internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats. For purposes of strategic planning, this information should assist NCS in identifying what is important to sustain or improve within the organization and what, outside the organization, may influence organizational success.

STRENGTHS

  • Parental/Family Involvement
  • Constructivist Curriculum and the Student Development Process
  • Sense of Community and Community Support
  • Quality of Faculty and Staff
  • Building/Facility
  • Communication

WEAKNESSES

  • Human Resources
  • Constructivist Curriculum
  • Financial Stability and Resources
  • Diversity
  • Communication and Outreach
  • Assessment and Demonstrated Outcomes
  • NCS Student’s Transition to Middle School
  • Building/Facility

OPPORTUNITIES

  • Best Practices Model
  • Partnerships
  • Partnership/Merger with Atlanta Charter Middle School
  • Public Relations and Marketing
  • Assessment and Demonstrated Outcomes

THREATS

  • Implications of Current Economic Environment
  • Decreased Educational Funding
  • Increased Competition
  • Scarcity of Teachers

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