University of New England

EDU-715
Organizational Theory and Strategic Planning
Strategic Plan
Amy Gaudette

One of the largest growing groups in Mansfield, MA is the low socio-economic

bracket. Several low-income housing units have come into the town in the past five years.
Up until then, the town has primarily been an affluent suburb of Boston. The town has
had a formula for graduating students that are prepared for college. Any students that
were not college bound attended Southeastern Technical School in Easton, MA. For
many years, this formula had been successful. With this growing group, the town and
schools are not equipped on how to best meet the needs of the students that are coming
from this group.
At the middle school level, many students are disengaged, depressed and seen as a
burden to the system or previously mentioned formula. Most of these students have been
referred for special education testing, but have not been diagnosed as having a disability.
This leaves them in a newly developed RTI process that does not have the supports to
build these students up. They have poor attendance, poor grades and poor self worth.
Of the seven 8th grade students tracked for this plan, their absences have an
average of 20 days, with a low of 10 days and a height of 35 days. Their average grade is
a D. Some of the disciplinary action taken has been the result of theft and the
carrying/passing of illegal substances. On the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment
System (MCAS) only 2 of these 7 students scored in the needs improvement range on the

Math test; the rest were in the warning range, which is failing. They fared better on the
Language Arts, but only one of the 7 students scored in the proficient range.
Personal mastery is a set of practices that support people- children and adults- in
keeping their dreams whole while cultivating an awareness of the current reality around
them. (Senge, 2012) These students deserve to hold tight to their dreams. They also
deserve to have a clear understanding of their reality and what it means for their future. If
they have a realistic understanding of their situation, they will be better equipped to take
the next steps. As part of this action plan, students will be provided with supports so that
they can access therapy, job support and scholarship initiatives. These students need to be
aware that they can still have the life they envision for themselves with the right
supports.
Now that we are beginning to understand the impact that these environmental
challenges have on the lives of children, we can anticipate support, therapy and
intervention. What needs to be created in order to tap into early intervention and success
is a shared vision for the community. Visions that tap into a school systems deeper
sense of purpose have unique power to engender aspiration. The practical goal of such
visions is to invite people to continuously renew their commitment to the people of the
school, particularly the children and students. (Senge, 2012) Our school community has
always had high standards and a strong commitment to fostering success with our
students. This vision should not waver when incorporating this new demographic. This
vision need only shift and expand in order to include the success of all students,
regardless of their situation and path. I have already sat with my Principal to discuss the

possibility of a summer institute with a task force of interested parties among the 4
schools in the district.
I am confident that this summer institute will lead to team learning. The heart of
team learning is regular willingness, as a group of recurring people, to think and act
together like a living systemit means continuously talking, with respect and
deliberation, about the issues that must be understood and resolved. (Senge, 2012) My
hope is that experts from many different departments can come together to discuss and
align what we need to learn as a group to move forward. As this is a fairly new problem,
there is much to be learned and much data to be collected.
There are a few strengths for my action plan. The plan can begin as data based.
Data that will be used is derived from absentee rates, grades, standardized test scores and
RTI interventions. Another strength noted is that the people that are currently signed up
for the summer institute to address the supports are genuinely invested in the endeavor.
We also have a definitive list of students that we will develop interventions for.
I have also noted a few weaknesses. As of now, we do not have any parent
representatives, nor do we have local therapeutic providers coming to the institute. This is
a new process and we may not have the support system we are hoping to provide. We
also do not have any school staff members from a similar background that can provide
some perspective and mentoring.
Along with these weaknesses, I have identified a few legitimate threats. The
culture of the school may view this process as a burden. There have been many changes
in process in the more recent years and this may be viewed as just another thing I have
to do We also have a very tight budget that could very well leave us with great ideas
that are not realized. We are also finding difficulties with finding a department that will
take ownerships of any endeavor, which means we have nowhere from which to allocate
the funding.

But more importantly, we have many opportunities ahead. We are at the

beginning of the RTI process in our school system; we have the opportunity to work
these supports and interventions into the fabric of our everyday culture. Word could
spread through the community of the investment that the district has in its community.
This could help with an overall commitment to the schools and ensuring the success of all
students.

SMART goals set a clear focus of what is to be achieved and also provide a measure of
how and if a goal is achieved. A goal is SMART if it is specific, measurable, attainable,
relevant and time framed.

1. By spring 2015, Qualters Middle School will be a comprehensive school-wide

learning community. Collaborative partnerships among and between teachers,
parents, and community organizations will be established through professional
development cohorts, monitored for efficacy and adjusted, based on best practices
and procedures.
2. By spring 2015, Qualters Middle School will have specific therapeutic
interventions in place that can be accessed by any student success team when a
need has been identified. These interventions will include interpreters,
psychologists, mentors and social workers.
3. By fall 2015, Qualters Middle School will have data available to the remainder of
the schools in the district to be analyzed for validity of support intervention
success

Table 1.
Estimated Cost Worksheet: Strategic Plan- Every Child Supported
SMART Goals
Initiatives
Item/Resource/Expenditure
Collaborative
partnerships among and Summer Institute
Cost for Institute/$20/hr/per
between teachers,
each member (8 teachers/3
parents, and community
days/6 hrs. per day)
organization
Purchase of Data
Easy CBM- QMS
programs

Specific therapeutic
interventions:
interpreters,
psychologists, mentors
and social workers.

Data sharing to be done

during professional
development and
departmental time.

Cost
$2,880

$1,200

Interpreters

$100/hr. 20 hour max

$2000

Psychologists

$100/hr. for evals.

$1000

Mentors

$40/hr per identified student

1 hour a week per student

Social Workers/Org.

Utilize family in-place care

$11,200

$0

.
No Cost

Benefits Cost

$2,742

Total Cost of Strategic Plan

References
Senge, P., Cambron-McCabe, N., Lucas, T., Smith, B., Dutton, J., & Kleiner, A. (2012).
Schools that learn. New York: Crown Business.

$21,022