NJEA launches strategic planning process
NJEA President Steve Beatty notes that it has been a long time since NJEA has formally reviewed its mission and vision.
“Not in my memory have we developed and implemented a strategic plan with specific goals that would lead to the alignment of our work and purpose of action to our strategies and tactics,” Beatty told the NJEA Executive Committee at its Sept. 5 meeting.
Last February, as he prepared to become NJEA’s next president, Beatty spoke with Lisa Nentl-Bloom, the now-retired executive director of the National Council of State Education Associations (NCSEA), about a strategic planning process. He asked Nentl-Bloom to help guide the NJEA through it.
Since then, a strategic planning steering committee has met multiple times, both in person and virtually to move that work forward.
“The group has been phenomenal, engaging in thoughtful conversation throughout the process,” Beatty said.
The work soon expanded beyond the steering committee. At the NJEA Jack Bertolino Summer Leadership Conference last August, Nentl-Bloom facilitated a session with the NJEA Executive Committee, county association presidents, NJREA and NJAEA. NJEA staff were also part of the process, including NJEA’s directors and managers as well as representatives from the unions that represent all NJEA staff: the United Staff Association and the Professional Consultants Association.
In September, a number of local association presidents representing a large portion of NJEA’s membership engaged in the strategic planning and leadership development process during in-person meetings at NJEA’s Trenton headquarters.
“Those conversations resulted in rich dialogue and valuable information to bring back to the steering committee,” Beatty said.
Individual steering committee members have been reporting about the process to the groups they represent, giving updates and soliciting feedback.
“This is an integral part of ensuring authentic member voice and establishing the legitimacy of the process and results toward a more perfect union,” Beatty said.
The process is following a clear timeline to ensure real results. The steering committee’s work will ultimately be shared with association leadership, committees, NJEA staff and managers to then go back to their constituents and work together to align their specific work to the statewide strategic plan.
“Of course, the work is never done,” Beatty says. “We will continually reflect on the implementation of our strategic plan and be ready to adjust accordingly.”