Strategic planning is a way to bring the community into a process that sets the direction of the school district. It allows our district to focus its time and resources toward results agreed upon by educators and community members. It ensures all of our stakeholders have a say in what their schools will look like in the future.

The development of a strategic plan is not a one-time event. Rather, it is an on-going process that will allow our schools to continue planning strategically for years to come. Each plan is developed for a five year period and expires at the end of that time. During those five years, it is a "living document" that is open to change each year to ensure it is meeting the needs and reflecting the values of the community.

For many years, Forest Lake Area Schools has been guided by strategic plans that have been periodically changed and updated, and they have enabled the district to better meet the needs of the community it serves. The most recent plan was developed in 2006. This strategic plan was to last for five years, with updates and adjustments occurring annually through a committee made up mostly of community members.

As of the end of this school year, our current strategic plan will expire. This means that this year, in anticipation of that deadline, we are beginning the process of creating a new plan, and we are looking for people interested in being part of that process.

About 30 community members from the Forest Lake area attended a two-day Educational Summit on Feb. 3 - 4 in order to provide information to school district officials as the district moves forward with the re-creation of its strategic plan.

Those meetings were open-ended discussions with members of the community. The purpose was to gather information on some of the things the school district does well, some things that need improvement and ideas on how to accomplish those objectives. The meetings were the first step that the school district is taking in creating a new strategic plan, as the current strategic plan is set to expire at the end of this school year.

The next step in the process will be the creation of a Strategic Planning Team. This team will take the information provided at the Educational Summit, as well as other information and data, then organize it and put it together in a more structured format. Like the Educational Summit, this team will be made up largely of members of the community at large. The district is currently seeking individuals who are interested in becoming members of this Strategic Planning Team. This would involve taking part in an intensive three-day planning session on March 22 - 24 and another one-day session on June 13.

Anyone interested in participating on the Strategic Planning Team can download the brochure and application form by clicking here. This brochure can be printed out and filled out by hand, or it can be downloaded, filled out electronically and emailed back to the district. Please send all electronic versions to Diane Borle at dborle@flaschools.org.