From aspiration to action

Kentucky School Advocate
August 2023

By Kerri Schelling
KSBA Executive Director

I am inspired by all the ways districts display their mottos and core values. You can find them emblazoned on central office walls, or as part of colorful murals in high school cafeterias. Marquees make them visible to those driving by while placement on district websites inform the online “traffic.” They are read over morning announcements and recited at the beginning of school board meetings. They’re visible on letterhead and spirit wear.

By displaying our mission statements and guiding principles everywhere we look, the hope is that they remain at the front of our minds and inseparable from the decisions we make. They present ideals that are both ambitious and bold, so how do we go from aspiration to action?

That is where our strategic plans come in. They give legs to lofty goals – actionable steps that can be executed, measured and monitored. These plans often reflect the feedback of stakeholders and pinpoint where opportunities for growth are ripest.

For example, take KSBA’s 2023-24 strategic plan that our board recently approved after months of development. We started with KSBA’s four longstanding strategic priorities:

1. Member ownership: We will increase member awareness and value in association services.

2. Advocacy: We will support legislation and other state and national actions that strengthen public education, promote student achievement and protect local control.

3. Service delivery: We will invest in staff and resources that contribute to the efficient delivery of services and continued improvement of the association and our members.

4. Partnerships: We will engage in partnerships that strengthen public education and enhance local boards’ leadership of student achievement.

These serve as the pillars of our plan, providing a solid direction and clear focus for our work. From there, we crafted objectives that define the specific outcomes KSBA wants to achieve. Under Member ownership, for instance, one of our objectives is to “Enhance the operation and role of the KSBA Board of Directors” because a critical part of collective ownership is strengthening those charged with its governance. KSBA has a long history of strong leadership, and we want to keep it that way, so this objective includes a number of activities including, but not limited to:

• Develop strategies for more meaningful and consistent participation at KSBA Board of Directors’ meetings.

• Process outcomes of the 2022 board self-evaluation to identify effective governance practices.

• Collaborate with regional directors to identify opportunities to effectively engage members to get involved at the regional level.

Each activity within KSBA’s strategic plan has an assigned KSBA staff liaison responsible for leading the work with a cross-disciplinary team and an estimated completion date. School board members know from experience that, when setting goals, accountability and deadlines are important, so it won’t come as a surprise that KSBA continuously monitors, evaluates and adapts to ensure our plan remains relevant and robust. There’s no gathering dust on a shelf for this hard-working document!

I hope you will take a moment to review KSBA’s new strategic plan available on our website. I am confident it will paint you a vivid picture of the important work we are doing on your behalf.

Likewise, this month is when districts are implementing their own plans for the new school year. As trustees of your districts, and elected representatives of your communities’ interests, we wish you the very best of luck this school year. Please reach out when we can support you along the way. See you this fall!