Craig Hockenberry Listens During Strategic Planning When I was selected Superintendent for Three Rivers School District, I knew that I wanted to be responsible for strengthening the district. (CRAIG HOCKENBERRY) My listening tour was designed to strengthen the bonds between school and community. Identifying our Core Values was my next important work. With this done, it was time to roll up our sleeves and do the really difficult but important work. We needed to create a strategic plan. Through several professional connections, I had heard great things about Dr. Bobby Moore and his company EPIC Impact Education Group. I knew that as a former principal and superintendent, he would understand the needs of our students and our community. Also, his reputation was of a tough but fair-minded leader. He would challenge everyone, including me, to deliver our best work in service of the kids. This was what I believed Three Rivers School District needed. Thankfully, the Board agreed and hired him to lead us through the strategic planning process. CRAIG HOCKENBERRY Strategic planning starts with strategic listening Dr. Moore got straight to work with a rigorous and reasonably fast-paced schedule of listening. He began a series of meetings with many different groups in our district. These included but were not limited to the following groups: In each case, he worked to meet with them at the time that was the most accommodating to them. And in each case, he met with the groups more than once. This kind of strategic listening over time means that people get a chance to be introduced to the ideas, raise questions, and search for the answers. It gives crucial time for processing and research. While many people already understand a lot about the data surrounding their position, they sometimes lose sight of the bigger picture. Or, in some cases, they lose sight of the data while they focus on related aspects of their work. One example comes with teacher based teams. It is very easy for a group of teachers to become focused on the daily work of addressing discipline concerns, new safety plans, or planning an instructional unit. When that happens, they can lose sight of the work objectives as measured in the State Report Card and CRAIG HOCKENBEERY A strategic plan process uses data to achieve a goal Sure, the best facilitators arrive with a lot of information already in hand. CRAIG HOCKENBERRY