"Taylor is amazing, she is joyful and insightful. Our collaborations are always powerful." -Executive Director feedback after developing a city-wide Preschool Inclusion Program

In education, if people aren't better off at the end of your mission- what is the point?

I focus a lot on this site about the day-to-day strategies and interventions. These things are transformative for children in the classroom and educators during training and coaching. But there is tireless, often tedious, and slow work that makes those experiences possible.

As a former high-level NYC Department of Education administrator, I know first-hand what it takes to not only keep a system running but improving. There are executive directors, education directors, superintendents, union leaders, and a hundred other people trying to etch out just a little more. A little more money, a little more support, a little more space, and time, and joy.

A people-centered strategic plan is less a document and more a relationship-driven process—one that listens deeply, co-creates boldly, and adapts continuously so every stakeholder sees themselves in both the journey and the results.

There are a lot of best-practices for strategic planning, but keeping people at the center is one we should insist on. It is often one that falls aside when systemic challenges start to clash. But before I get to what those best practices are, let me shout out my favorite: joy.

I feel so blessed to do work that is–at its heart–joyful. And staying tapped into that joy and the meaning is what helps me keep people at the center of what we do; especially when we get mired in red tape, systemic inequities, and a chaotic environment. I strive to stay in community and communication with the people I espouse to serve, because they are both my joy and my accountability.

Here are some other strategies for staying people-centered when engaging in strategic planning.

People-Centered Strategic Planning

1 Listen first. Hold empathy interviews, surveys, and community forums before you draft a single goal. Starting with lived experience ensures the plan reflects real needs and builds early trust.
2 Build a representative design team. Include staff, families, partners, and voices often left out (e.g., paraprofessionals, community elders, students). Cross-functional teams surface blind spots and keep equity at the center of every decision.
3 Anchor in a shared mission, vision, and values. Revisit or co-write these statements at the outset. Clear, collective “why” statements guide tough trade-offs later and keep momentum high.
4 Pair data with stories—through an equity lens. Disaggregate outcomes, map gaps, and layer in personal narratives. Quantitative and qualitative evidence together spotlight root causes and human impact.
5 Facilitate collaborative, design-thinking workshops. Use journey maps, rapid prototypes, and visual canvases. Hands-on co-creation accelerates alignment and gives stakeholders ownership of solutions.
6 Focus on what matters most—together. Narrow to a few high-leverage goals and sunset low-impact work. A concise roadmap beats plan sprawl and directs resources where they help people most.
7 Write for everyone. Translate jargon into plain language, add visuals, and offer multiple languages/formats. Accessibility widens engagement and makes implementation instructions crystal-clear.
8 Treat the plan as a living document. Schedule quarterly learning loops, gather feedback, and iterate openly. Continuous improvement keeps the strategy relevant as conditions and community needs evolve.
9 Name owners, timelines, and metrics. Assign accountable leads, publish progress dashboards, and link budgets. Transparent responsibilities and evidence of movement turn good intentions into action.
10 Celebrate and communicate wins early and often. Share stories of progress in town halls, social media, and one-page briefs. Recognition fuels morale, reinforces the plan’s human purpose, and invites more voices in.