Cary School District 26

Cary School District 26 is excited to begin our work on developing a new strategic plan for the district. Strategic planning is so important to the district and its communities as it is critical that we periodically set a clear direction for the future. The District has partnered with The Catalyst for Educational Change (CEC) to assist with the facilitation of the plan development process and provide guidance to the Strategic Planning Team. The Strategic Management Group is the largest trainer of strategic planning facilitators and has developed their management system based on research and best practice in the field. CEC effectively creates long-term transformation in schools and districts by focusing on collaboration and capacity building. With the cooperation of stakeholders at every level, CEC helps schools and districts effectively diagnose their strengths and needs, and set direction for their work.

This D26 Strategic Planning Team is composed of a diverse group of stakeholders that includes representatives from the District 26 staff, administration, parents/community, and students. Members of the planning team not only bring forth their ideas about how to move the district to an even higher level of performance, but also examine ideas from stakeholders not on the team to give them voice and input into the process. The Strategic Planning Team webpages will be used as a point of communication and transparency regarding the team’s efforts and progress as it begins developing this new plan. Meetings have been scheduled to begin this September with the goal of having a new Strategic Plan ready for Board of Education approval in February 2024.

The foundation of CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT rests upon the pillars of mission, vision, values, goals and strategies. Each of these pillars asks a different question of educators within the system.
Mission: What is our fundamental purpose; why do we exist?
Vision: What must we become in order to accomplish our fundamental purpose?
Core Values: How must we behave to achieve our mission, vision and goals?
Goals: How will we know if we are making a difference?
Strategies: What needs our attention?

 “When boards of education along with teachers, administrators, students, families and the community have worked together to consider those questions and reach consensus regarding their collective positions on each question, they have built a solid foundation for CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT and provide their systems with a roadmap for getting better every day.” (Adapted from DuFour, DuFour, Eaker and Many: Learning By Doing)