Overview
NorthStar Education Partners collaborated with Bibb County School District (BCSD) to develop a broad range of strategies for multiple departments, including human resources, the office of schools, the office of academics, and engagement. This partnership involved not only designing the strategy but also supporting its deep implementation over several years, ensuring sustainable and impactful outcomes.
Objectives
BCSD partnered with NorthStar to:
- Authentically engage all BCSD stakeholders—students, families, staff, board, and community—to surface deeply held values and priorities for the next five years.
- Create a data-based foundation for the strategic plan by synthesizing existing internal district data and externally benchmarked data on practices from high-performing school systems.
- Collaboratively co-create a strategic plan with stakeholders that paints a clear picture of success for BCSD over the next five years, inclusive of a refreshed vision, mission, goals, implementation strategies, evaluation methods, and priorities by year for all functional areas.
- Develop easy-to-use and digestible collateral to help BCSD communicate the strategic plan to its stakeholders.
- Support BCSD in bringing all stakeholders along in this process, from principals and staff to families and board members, via support developing timely communications and presentations for the Superintendent to deliver.
Partner
Bibb County School District
Location: Macon, Georgia
Enrollment & Schools
21,392 students across various schools, including elementary, middle, high, charter, and specialty schools.
Mission Statement
To develop a highly trained staff and an engaged community dedicated to educating each student for a 21st-century global society.
Key Activities & Deliverables
Engagement and Planning
- Established norms for engagement and created a detailed organizational engagement plan.
- Conducted liberatory design training for all guiding team members, including identifying equity commitments.
Organizational Assessment
- Identified key strengths, areas for improvement, and questions to be answered during the strategic planning process.
Strategic Development
- Developed a profile of a BCSD graduate and a theory of action describing the key pillars of BCSD’s district design.
- Created a dashboard of school performance metrics covering five years and key performance areas (e.g., academics, culture, attendance, enrollment, finances).
- Drafted a five-year strategic plan, including internal and external versions, organizational priorities, goals, and associated metrics.
- Developed an implementation roadmap outlining strategic initiatives by year with designated owners.
Communication and Implementation
- Provided guidance for implementing the strategic plan, including protocols and check-in structures.
- Created an implementation website centralizing all tools and resources.
Outcomes
Outcomes
The collaboration resulted in a comprehensive, multi-year board-approved strategic plan encompassing academics, people, finance, and operations. This plan now guides all initiatives at BCSD and has led to improvements in academic outcomes, teacher development, teacher retention, and campus operations.
Read more case studies and learn how NorthStar Education Partners is transforming education through strategic partnerships and innovative approaches.