pends on a formal information system. The external and internal assessments provide a reality base on which to build future plans. The vision or mission identifies the organization's purpose and its desired future state. The process of internal assessment and future visioning may uncover, with in an organization, differing views of its purpose, its current level of effective ness, and its potential for the future. Thus, consensus building may be an important element of these phases. Once consensus is reached, the practical steps necessary for reaching that future state over a given period of time - the goals and objectives of the organization can be identified and actualized in the implementation phase. Evaluation and revision occur at the end of the planning cycle, but may occur at any stage with in the planning process. Why Do It? In the simplest terms, a strategic plan can help improve performance. School staff or members of any organization, can become so bogged down in routine functioning and daily challenges, they can lose sight of the organization's purpose. A strategic plan cannot only refocus members' sense of purpose, but can stimulate future-oriented thinking based on a shared sense of mission. Collaboration between members of an organization is more effective when everyone is working with in the same set of assumptions and toward the same goals. Today's educational system must cope with changes in demographics, family patterns, and workplace requirements. Many of these changes provide interrelated challenges to the system. Viewing them as a web of problems may be overwhelming; putting them in the perspective of an organized strategic plan allows the organization to deal with them in a coordinated way, addressing pieces of the problems as part of a progression toward a total solution.(3) This allows the organization to influence its environment and take control of its future, rather than reacting to it. Strategic planning is...
