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Create Your Future Ready Action Plan

It’s time to celebrate your progress thus far - Great job finishing Step 3! Now, we can use the data you collected to create a customized, research-based Future Ready Action Plan.  

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Task One: Set A Timeline and Assign Gear Level Leaders

Future Ready Leadership Teams should collaborate to identify 1) a timeline for completing the Future Ready Action Plan and 2) a Gear Leader for each gear in the Future Ready Framework the district will prioritize in their action plan. A comprehensive action plan requires a series of weekly meetings to plan each gear, identify goals, and select strategies for implementation. Select Gear Leads who will have a strong understanding of the content for each FRS gear and is willing to take the first pen to write the vision and goals for their gear. Project Managers should set meeting times on the team's calendar for planning aligned with the agreed upon timeline.

Note: Action plans can have a more direct focus (e.g., tackling one or two gears), or have an intensive work plan for each Future Ready gear. Use the dashboard to create an action plan that fits your specific district needs and priorities. Here's a Sample FRS Action Plan to give you an idea of what your district could create using the planning tool. 

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Task Two: Write the Introduction and Use Evidence to Set Goals

The system automatically creates an action plan template associated with the District Leadership Self-Assessment that was most recently completed. Click "Action Planning" in the menu, select your team's plan, and follow the prompts for completing the introduction section. As a team, create and critique the language you will use to complete each component of the introduction (e.g., statement of leadership, background, and theory of change). 

Pro Tip 1: Use the first planning meeting to complete Task 1 and 2. Use team-building activities on vision setting and strategic planning to identify the appropriate language for completing the introduction section of the action plan.

The dashboard pulls in all the data you've collected in the previous steps and conducts a gap analysis to recommend the next steps for implementation. Select the gears that your district will prioritize in your plan and a set time for Gear Leads to create the first draft. Each Gear Lead will analyze your district’s readiness levels for their gear elements, create a draft vision statement and SMART goals to be reviewed by the Future Ready Leadership team in the next meeting. 

Pro Tip 1: Each gear should include at least three goals to support the vision, but could include an unlimited number depending on the scope of each goal and your district's approach to the Future Ready Action Plan. Be sure to review the SMART goals document when writing the goals for your district.

Pro Tip 2: We recommend staggering meeting times and benchmarks for completion of each gear section. The time between meetings gives the leadership team the chance to review each FRS gear in the action plan and be prepared with suggestions for improvement.  Districts should plan to review 1-2 gear sections in each meeting to avoid "information paralysis". 

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Task Three: Select Strategies to Support each Goal

This task can be completed as a group activity, or by individual gear leaders and then discussed as a team. The recommended strategies are aligned with the Future Ready gears and the four readiness levels. They were created by leaders from across the country who have already been successful in navigating the shift to personalized student-centered learning. These experts, all with district-level experience, provided these strategies to address each of the gaps identified in the readiness rubric. Use this opportunity to collaborate as a team, set goals, and select from hundreds of practitioner created strategies that have been used in successful digital transitions in districts like Mooresville (NC), Vista Unified School District (CA), Bristol-Warren (RI), and Vancouver Public Schools (WA). 

Pro Tip 1: If this task is completed as a group, make sure that the team agrees on each goal prior to selecting the corresponding strategies. If this task is drafted by the Gear Lead and approved in a team meeting, instruct each team member to review the content of the plan before the meeting to prepare for a discussion. 

Pro Tip 2: Goals can correspond to an unlimited number of strategies however, teams should be careful not to set unrealistic expectations for implementation. Balance the relationship between a number of strategies and timeline associated with each goal to ensure your plan is practical.

Task Four: Evaluation and Communication

Continuous improvement and evaluation are essential parts of a successful implementation effort. In the final section of the action plan, the leadership team should discuss plans for assessing the fidelity of implementation, measuring outcomes of the change effort, and monitoring progress. It is also important to outline outreach strategies for keeping stakeholders engaged as well as assign the role of accountability to different members of the team. 

Pro Tip 1: Consider using existing processes within the district for measuring change. For example, teacher and staff surveys, parent meetings, etc. are often ways to gather feedback. If the expectation is that the change effort will impact student outcomes, list formative or summative assessments being used in the district as tools for evaluation.

Pro Tip 2: Check out the Future Ready resources to identify multiple ideas for communication and engagement strategies. For example, many districts use social media as a way to keep stakeholders updated on their personalized learning initiatives.