City Schools of Decatur is in the process of drafting our next five-year strategic plan. The District has partnered with the Georgia School Boards Association (GSBA) and the Georgia Leadership Institute for School Improvement (GLISI) to facilitate the plan development process. This plan and process is an opportunity to engage, energize, and empower all our stakeholder groups to unite and set our course for the next five years. 


Why is a Strategic Plan important, and what will the plan accomplish?
According to GSBA, “A well-designed, measurable strategic plan enables a school system’s governance team and staff to remain focused on the core business of educating the students within their community. A strong plan also enables a community of stakeholders to help set the direction for the future and remain engaged and involved in the education process within their local community. A strong strategic plan, with a balanced scorecard for measuring progress, also allows all stakeholders to better understand the budget process and budget priorities for the life of the plan.” The plan will identify the course of action for the district for the next five years and will answer the questions of the Continuous Improvement Model: Who are we? Where are we now? Where do we want to go? How will we know when we have arrived? and How do we plan to get there?

How will the plan be drafted, and what is the timeline?
The plan will be drafted in a multi-step process that involves stakeholder input on the district’s strategic goals, SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats), and vision and mission statements. The timeline is outlined in the graphic below.