STRATEGIC PLAN
STEERING
COMMITTEE

The Maine School Administrative District 75 is convening a cross section of stakeholders to advise on the development of their next Strategic Plan. This steering committee will serve a critical role in drafting the strategic plan and serving as ambassadors for the process to ensure transparency across the district.

The steering committee will collaborate with the district leadership team to craft the district’s strategic plan. “Self-renewing organizations recognize that the problems facing them are too difficult for any one group to solve. They know they must draw in their stakeholders and collaborate with others who share their values. With collaboration comes new opportunities for learning” (Carter and Cunningham, p.188). Steering committee members will serve as valuable thought partners during the strategic planning process by providing ideas for development of aspects of the strategic plan and feedback on drafts.

Ideally, steering committee members will share the work with and solicit feedback from their larger group of constituents, resulting in a more robust and inclusive process. In addition to the steering committee, there will be multiple sources of stakeholder engagement and feedback. The steering committee will be responsible for analyzing feedback and providing suggestions for revisions based on trends in feedback data. While the number of steering committee participants may vary depending on the size of the district, most committees are comprised of approximately 25 members.

Selecting the Committee

When selecting members of the steering committee, it is important to consider the degree to which the membership:

• Equitably represents the demographics of the district’s student population;
• Equitably represents the various areas of the city/county;
• Represents a range of schools and grade levels, as well as positions and years of experience;
• Has a balance of internal and external stakeholders;
• Includes internal and external “power brokers”; and
• Has the right number of members to allow for effective and efficient conversations.

Steering Committee Membership

Based on the questions above, steering committee members could include:

• The president or their designee from local Community Association(s)
• Select members of the superintendent’s senior leadership team
• Representation from the Offices of Academics, Operations, Talent Management, and Family and Community Engagement
• Principals and teachers, each from different areas
• Students, one from each area (ensuring even representation of grade levels)
• Parents, one from each area (ensuring even representation of grade levels)
• The president of the city’s Parent-Teacher Organization
• The president of the teachers’ union
• University representation
• Key business leaders
• Key mayoral staff
• Philanthropy leaders
• State DOE representatives

Steering Committee Roles and Responsibilities

The Steering Committee’s role is to provide support and guidance in the development of the strategic plan. Members provide expertise and input representative of their sector. Steering Committee members should:

• Understand the elements and expected outcomes of the strategic plan;
• Appreciate the plan’s significance for the district and community;
• Be genuinely interested in the project and the outcomes that are intended; and
• Be an advocate for the strategic plan by doing what they can to promote it.

In practice, this means they:

• Consider ideas and issues raised with an open mind;
• Provide guidance to the superintendent and their team;
• Help balance conflicting priorities and resources;
• Foster positive communication outside task force meetings regarding the plan’s progress; and
• Contribute to the process of developing the plan.

Steering committee members will likely have been selected based on their individual knowledge and skills, as well as their affiliations to certain stakeholder groups. It will be important for the superintendent to communicate clearly with steering committee members to help them maintain their focus on the strategic plan’s development and its potential to improve the district rather than the specific interests of each constituent group. Similarly, members who have expertise in a particular area should avoid taking a narrow view of their responsibility on the committee – they are on the committee to contribute to each aspect of the strategic plan.

Overall Timeline and Steering Committee Meeting Cadence

Below is a high level, overall timeline for strategic plan development. Following the timeline is a specific outline of steering committee meeting cadence and work to be accomplished during and in between meetings to meet the deadline of draft completion by ENTER TARGET COMPLETION DATE. Suggested meeting duration is 2 hours. It is anticipated that the first steering committee meeting will occur in ENTER MONTH AND YEAR and the final meeting will occur in ENTER MONTH AND YEAR.