Two critical aspects of educational leadership are continuous improvement and problem-solving. In your future professional practice, you will be tasked with identifying problems within the organizatio

Two critical aspects of educational leadership are continuous improvement and problem-solving. In your future professional practice, you will be tasked with identifying problems within the organizatio 1

Needs Assessment and Strategic Goal

Directions: Consider the school district where you currently work or one where you are interested in working as the basis for the assignments in the course.

Imagine you are a member of the district leadership team and you have been tasked with gathering data and conducting a needs assessment survey to identify a critical need or problem within the organization, develop a strategic goal to address the need/problem, and enact an action plan for addressing the strategic goal.

Examine the district improvement plan to help you identify critical needs. Your goal is to identify a specific problem or need that you would like to address to advance the vision and mission of the district. Select a strategic goal that encourages district engagement with diverse families in strengthening student learning in and out of school and advocates for equitable access to educational resources, technologies, and opportunities that support the educational success and well-being of each student.

Part 1: Identifying a Goal

Name of District:

District’s Mission and Vision:

Mission:
Vision:

Documents Reviewed: Provide a link to or attach a copy of the documents you reviewed related to the district that is the focus of the assignment.

Links:
Attachment Titles:

Strategic Goal: Based on the documents you reviewed, identify the specific strategic goal that will be the focus of the project. The goal should be written in SMART format, should address a specific district need or problem, and be in alignment with advancing the mission and vision of the district.

Goal:

Existing Data (both qualitative and quantitative): Identify all existing data you have reviewed relevant to the goal you established. This could include both formal and informal data.

Qualitative:
Quantitative:

Part 2: Needs Assessment Survey

A needs assessment survey is critical to developing strategies that will help you achieve your goal. Even though you will not be able to implement the needs assessment survey, practicing the steps needed to create an effective survey that aligns with the goal is an important part of the strategic planning process. To create an effective action plan that will help you meet the newly established strategic goal, you should conduct a needs assessment survey to gain insight into how you can best fill the gaps between the district’s current and desired state. To help you develop a strong needs assessment survey, address each question below.

What are you hoping to learn from the needs assessment?

Who will the audience for the needs assessment be and why is the involvement of these stakeholders important?

What resources are available and necessary for the needs assessment (i.e., time, people, budget, technology)?

What needs to be assessed in the survey?

What tools will you use to conduct the assessment and analyze the data?

Needs Assessment Survey: Provide the link to the needs assessment survey or attach the survey document you plan to use.

Link:

Part 3: Reflection

In 250-500 words, address the following:

Discuss strategies that can help leaders determine the validity and reliability of survey data and explain why it is important to consider these factors as part of a needs assessment.
Discuss how leaders can determine whether they have enough data and whether that data provides actionable evidence that can be used to establish action steps for initiatives related to achieving the strategic goal.
Describe the next steps you would take as a leader after completing a needs assessment and justify them.