Reflective Retreats for the Entire Administrative Staff Can Significantly Help Connect Strategic Plans to Administrative Practice by Michael A. Rossi, Jr.

In July 2022, the Lenape Valley Regional High School (located in Sussex County, NJ) leadership team met for two full days of professional learning.  Lenape is a regional, comprehensive high school. It receives students from Byram, Netcong, and Stanhope Schools. These three K-8 public schools, are all within three miles of the high school. Lenape houses grades 9-12, with 700 students and a population that includes students from various demographic, socioeconomic, and religious backgrounds.  

Goals for the ‘retreat’ included: targeting and increasing pathways for student engagement; coordination and articulation with our sending districts; establishing short and long-range objectives aimed at mental health; and social emotional learning (SEL); and an identification of salient leadership attributes that are adaptable in an ever-changing educational world. All of these were housed within Vision 2027, Lenape’s Strategic Plan.  

The lead facilitator was Dr. Amy Sichel, past president of the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) and longtime Superintendent of Abington School District in PA. She was assisted by Dr. Mark Pellico, former school administrator, also from Abington. Two key presentations were given over the two days. One was delivered by Dr. Pat Greco, former Superintendent of the Year in Wisconsin, and Dr. Shari Cami, Baldwin, NY, Superintendent and current President of AASA. In addition to the presentations, several reflective practice in action periods provided attendees opportunities to personalize the topics. To gauge the effectiveness of the program, a pre / post survey was administered, which statistically analyzed participant responses to the content presented.  

The three presenters were chosen due to their expertise in the areas of college and career readiness, leadership ‘rounding’, administrative ‘agility’ and social emotional learning. Rounding is the extent to which periodic check ins (short conversations that address current strengths and challenges within the organization). For example, a building principal who makes weekly visits to classrooms to inquire how a new character education initiative is going is an approach to rounding. Agility centers on how effective managers are at staying committed to long term goals in volatile times. We hypothesized that connecting these attributes across multiple disciplines and tying them to a strategic plan, while augmenting the retreat with reflective practice, would result in significant outcomes between the pre and post survey, based on paired samples t-tests. 

Developing the Process 

The planning process for the July 2022 retreat began in fall 2021. Dr. Sichel and I had numerous video chats (later being joined by Dr. Pellico) to develop an agenda that was unique to the needs and aspirations of Lenape Valley. We began by asking one fundamental question of each member of our leadership team: what are your strengths, weaknesses and challenges? We asked each respondent to identify those about themselves individually and about their department(s) collectively. After receiving those we looked for and pinpointed some general themes.  Those themes included:

• What is effective educational leadership today?
• Where are you on the road to succeeding as a future ready educational leader?
• What are the core values and core beliefs of exceptional future ready educational leaders in Lenape Valley?
• How do effective educational leaders determine and transform the organizational culture of Lenape Valley?
• How can effective educational leaders promote true organizational change and improvement for Lenape Valley?  

As our meetings continued to unfold, Dr. Sichel and I contemplated how best to choregraph a learning experience that would be beneficial to supervisors, directors, principals, superintendents, across all grade levels and content areas. When 2021 turned into 2022, the District was putting the final touches on our long-range strategic plan. The final product consists of four major domains: Multiple Educational Pathways, SEL/Health & Wellness, Community Outreach, Facilities. With this, our attention then turned to creating a fusion among individual needs, departmental/content area challenges, and Vision 2027. At this juncture, our priority became finding distinguished leaders in our profession who would complement Amy, and focusing the retreat so that it was tailored to individual, group and strategic plan goals. We were very fortunate that Pat Greco and Shari Cami were available to join us. Ultimately, we honed in on three major themes: Leadership, Pathways, and SEL/Mental Health. As we progressed through the retreat, the idea of modern facilities as a prerequisite to achieving any goal, was prominent.  

Ultimately, we framed out the agenda and topical areas based on the strengths and challenges identified by participants and the domains of Lenape’s Strategic Plan. Also, we believed it to be critically important to establish retreat content that would be meaningful for all participants, given we had elementary, middle and high school educators in attendance.  These attendees represented department supervisors, building level leaders and school superintendents.  Moreover, because Byram, Netcong and Stanhope “send” their students to Lenape (in effect, the entirety of the high school is comprised of students from those three districts), we wanted to maintain the highest level of articulation.              

The Retreat

Two critical attendee groups made the learning experience so valuable. First, Lenape’s entire administrative team was present. We included everyone—from athletics, buildings & grounds, guidance, content supervisors, principal, VP, and me.  Second, we invited our K-8 ‘sending’ district leadership. This combination enabled, and in some instances forced us, to recognize how all members of the learning community impact a student’s experience. As the adage goes, it takes a village. With all voices being welcomed and heard, a powerful symmetry emerged throughout the two days. We accomplished this through on-going dialogue (making sure everyone spoke) and exit ticket reflection time.            

Using our three themes, we dialogued about the most important, current and local leadership characteristics and how they manifest with teachers, parents, students, community members and one another, which Dr. Sichel covered in her presentation on “Leadership for the Future.” From there we discussed the idea of leadership in a “VUCA” world; meaning volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (McNulty, 2020).  As we progressed, Pat Greco gave us an overview of “Leader Rounding” (Greco, 2021), Dr. Sichel facilitated a presentation on “Redefining Ready,” and Shari Cami highlighted her district’s “Pathways for Learning Model.”  

The latter part of the retreat attended to SEL and Mental Health. Using the CASEL Framework, we spoke at challenges stemming from COVID-19, everyday stressors working in public education, the importance of finding healthy outlets {for ourselves, staff and students}, and how we can infuse both SEL and Health & Wellness throughout the school day. The CASEL Framework consists of five elements of student SEL engagement. These five are self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, responsible decision-making skills (CASEL, 2022). Finally, we engaged in a process we tilted “Putting it all Together.” Here we looked at short and longer-term strategies and objectives that tied our two-day experience to our strategic plan. A critically important component of our process was the built-in reflective periods where we documented our thoughts. Throughout each part, we paid special attention to how ‘adjunct’ areas need to be contemplated at all times, such as finances, facilities, trustees, the student voice, parents, and the community.  

Results 

The retreat outcomes were altogether positive, both qualitatively and quantitively.  On the qualitative side, exit ticket feedback from attendees included “well planned; useful topics; great experience; thank you for reigniting my passion”; and much more.  More importantly, the reflection sessions and documentation from them produced tangible and clearly articulated statements that pinpointed things we do well, deficiencies, areas we need to emphasize, and clearly defined ‘next steps’.  For example, Lenape Valley’s 2022 – 2023 District Goals were born during the retreat.  They are all completely aligned to Vision 2027.      

On the quantitative side, we demonstrated measurable and impactful statistical outcomes.  Using the topics developed and covered during the retreat, and based off existing literature, a Likert Scale survey questionnaire was developed. This survey was administered a few days prior to and after the retreat.  

The pre and post survey responses were numerically coded as strongly disagree = 1, disagree = 2, neutral = 3, agree = 4, and strongly agree = 5

Nonparametric paired samples t-tests (i.e., Wilcoxon tests) were conducted to determine if the differences in the pre and post responses were statistically significant. Table 1 contains the results of the paired samples tests.  All p-values tests were significant at the .005 level and three were significant at the .001 level.  Specifically, these results show that there was a significant increase in agreement with all five items. The responses to Item 1 increased in agreement from pre to post by an average of 1.00 point. The responses to Item 2 increased in agreement from pre to post by an average of 0.93 points. The responses to Item 3 increased in agreement from pre to post by an average of 1.27 points. The responses to Item 4 increased in agreement from pre to post by an average of 1.20 points. The responses to Item 5 increased in agreement from pre to post by an average of 0.94 points. The effect sizes (r) for the paired samples tests ranged from .81 to .94, indicating large effect sizes for all tests.

These data points suggest participation in our reflective retreat positively impacted participants’ confidence that we can increase pathways for student engagement, improve mental health, and identify the leadership traits necessary to achieve concomitant goals. 

Table 1

Wilcoxon Sign Rank Tests for Pre/Post Differences (N = 15)

Item	Pre M (SD)	Post M (SD)	Sig.	Effect Size (r)
1. There are specific metrics that can be used to measure college and career readiness.	3.80 (0.41)	4.80 (0.41)	< .001**	.94
2. Organizational Success depends largely on having measurable goals, clearly defined processes to achieve those goals, and “rounding” at specific intervals.	4.00 (0.93)	4.93 (0.26)	.002*	.81
3. “Agility” is what enables leaders to remain committed to their vision during volatile, complex and uncertain times.	3.60 (0.91)	4.87 (0.35)	< .001**	.86
4. Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is as or more important than academic programs.	3.40 (0.74)	4.60 (0.63)	.002*	.81
5. It is possible to infuse SEL across the entire curricula.	3.93 (0.70)	4.87 (0.35)	< .001**	.90

Putting it Together 

After each reflective session, participant feedback was shared on a large screen so that all participants could see and comment upon.  With that we were able to juxtapose individual and group remarks with targeted domains of the retreat.  To extend this, as we neared the conclusion of day two, we strove to align our work with the upcoming academic term. Accordingly, we connected college and career readiness to a workplace readiness goal, aimed at ‘real world applications’ of classroom lessons.  A second goal was to establish a set of core values and core beliefs that reflect both our strategic plan and the community.  A third was to examine our graduation requirements, with an eye toward creating more options for students.  Finally, we established a goal of developing a long-range facilities plan such that all we do takes place in a 21^st century learning environment. 

Summary 

A strategic plan is arguably the most vital element to any organization.  After all, without a destination, any road will get you there.  At Lenape Valley, we sought to create a learning experience that would jumpstart the implementation of Vision 2027.  I knew I could not find a better organization than AASA nor a better lead facilitator than Dr. Amy Sichel.  The summer 2022 retreat program was tailored and individualized for our school district.  She and I (together with Mark Pellico) spent numerous hours planning a unique learning experience for all attendees.  The effects were both immediate and far reaching.  Moreover, it was a bonding experience for the regional high school and sending K-8s.  Simply put, it was a fabulous retreat, which in the end, is a mirror reflection of our strategic plan. 

Based on the outcomes of our reflective retreat, we believe school districts should consider using a similar model when they are goal setting and seeking to operationalize their strategic plan. 

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About the scholar

References

CASEL. “What is the CASEL Framework?” CASEL. Accessed May 4, 2023. https://casel.org/fundamentals-of-sel/what-is-the-casel-framework/

Greco, Patricia F. “The Leader Rounding Protocol,” School Administrator 78, no. 11 (2021): 19.

McNulty, Raymond J. “Operating in a VUCA World,” School Administrator 77, no. 7 (2020): 18-23.

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