Education Elements pitches 6–9 month strategic‑planning process to Romulus board

Kelly Freiheit, a consultant with Education Elements, presented to the board on April 13 about how her firm supports districts in developing strategic plans. She described a four‑phase process—plan & align, foundations (data), design (community engagement), and launch (implementation and measurement)—and said a typical timeline is six to nine months, sometimes extending to nine months to accommodate summer scheduling.

Freiheit emphasized leveraging district and community voices in design sessions and using a benchmarking 'data triangle' to compare district metrics with similar districts. She discussed tools and practices for inclusive engagement—focus groups, surveys and in‑person events—and said effective plans include governance structures that bring stakeholders to the table and clear measurement metrics.

Freiheit suggested aligning the strategic plan with school improvement plans so work at the district and school levels feels cohesive rather than duplicative. She described how her firm helps districts clarify implementation phases for initiatives so the community can see what is being prioritized and how progress will be reported.

The presentation closed with examples of implementation milestones and a brief discussion of communication strategies, including using social media and public events to reach families and stakeholders. Freiheit offered that Education Elements could help Romulus design an approach tailored to the district’s circumstances and noted the value of clearly articulating the "why" behind a strategic plan before engaging the full community.

Next steps: No decision was recorded at the meeting on selecting a vendor; the presentation served as an informational briefing to inform future board discussion.