Strategic+Planning

 The “reform” of American education has been debated in various quarters for nearlay three decades with little agreement on just what needs to be “reformed” and with much less agreement on the question of whether or not any progress is being made. Although we seem to disagree on whether political, empirical, or social forces are the best route to take, we have consensus that there is a need to produce better student outcomes. Advocates of school reform argue that if we don't change and determine how to make change successfully, we have little hope for reversing our nation's declining ability to prepare students for success in a global economy and the rapidly changing world of the 21st Century. Governors and state boards of education have suggested their own solutions. Their principal concerns have been to increase testing for students (if we test more, then students will achieve more), competency testing of teachers (e.g., Praxis), mandatory accreditation of schools, increased graduation requirements in academic subjects, and “management” training for principals so they will be better instructional leaders. Perhaps this plethora of state mandates has reduced local initiatives for school improvement just as the greatly expanded federal role has now led to receptivity of the idea that “Washington does not know how to help!” Many local school administrators have literally thrown up their hands at the barrage of new mandates that have been rarely sufficiently funded to be accomplished. At times administrators have found themselves diverting resources from existing programs to finance a most recently mandated program. At the same time one can ask the question “From where does the motivation come for school improvement in a public enterprise that lacks competition in most communities?” The answer surely has to reside in the professional competence and initiative of the local staff working in concert with the local board of education that tries to address the community's concern for effective schools. Where does instructional technology fit into this scenario for making change? To begin with, computer technology, perhaps more that any other single factor, has created the need for making changes. In a single generation, computer technology has catapulted us from the industrial age into the information age. Almost daily, in the worlds of transportation, communication, banking, manufacturing, retail, and virtually every other segment of our society, new technology-based systems are replacing old systems that seem to have been rendered obsolete overnight. Yet for the most part, K-12 education has failed to make the transition; we continue to use the methods and materials of the industrial age to prepare our children for life in the rapidly changing information age. In recent years, a number of school districts have borrowed from industry to develop a process called //strategic planning//. Educational strategic planners attempt to respond to a wide variety of factors determining the direction schools ought to take in planning for the future. Most leading educators agree that strategic planning is the key to reforming American education. But what exactly is //strategic planning//? How do we do it? And what does it have to do with school library media programs? Schools have long engaged in several planning processes and have often been required to do so by state departments of education. Strategic planning is something akin to futures planning but hardly as a “crystal-ball” exercise. **Strategic planning is skillful planning**. It involves developing a vision and integrating short-term plans with long-term objectives. Strategic planning is a process for answering three basic questions (1) Where do you want to go? (2) How are you going to get there? and (3) How will you know when you've arrived? A strategic planning process can help school library media specialists develop plans for school library media programs in such areas as integrating information skills into the curriculum, improving teaching, and effective use of instructional technology. According to //Empowering Learners// (2009) the school library media program is built on a long-term strategic plan that reflects the mission, goals, and objectives of the school. The library media specialist must become collaborative partners with teacher to plan together for the a library media program that meets the instructional needs of the school. The partnership approach, in addition to making the program more responsive to user needs, creates shared commitment to library media program goals and an enhanced image for the overall program. Consistent attention must be given to assessing changing needs of the curriculum and individual users. Library media program planning must be a continuous, collaborative effort. Library media leadership must plan, or live with the plans made by others. Manage change, or spend valuable time and effort reacting to change forced upon us by others. In the publication, //Alabama's School Library Media Plan for the 21st Century Learner//, the Alabama State Department of Education provides the objectives to guide schools in establishing, enhancing, and supporting 21st Century school library media programs.
 * A PLANNING GUIDE FOR LIBRARY MEDIA PROGRAMS **
 * Objective: **To utilize a systematic planning process to develop a library media program plan that provides a curriculum-integrated library media program.
 * Rationale: **
 * Instructional Technology **
 * Strategic Planning for Library Media Programs **

Use information on the Guide to Planning Process to complete prepate a written plan for a comprehensive and effective library media program.