Your 2025 planning is probably backwards

TIP OF THE WEEK

Why Your School Planning Is Stuck in the Last Century (And How to Fix It)

Remember those beautiful strategic plans you made last summer? The ones currently gathering digital dust while you put out your 47th fire of the day?

Here's the thing: Most school planning fails because it focuses on maintaining systems instead of transforming them. It's like trying to renovate a house while it's on fire – you might patch a few holes, but you'll never build something remarkable.

Enter the RISE Method, a revolutionary approach that's helping Ruckus Makers actually create the schools of tomorrow.

Here's how it works:

Reimagine the Possible

Before you touch a spreadsheet or schedule a single meeting, you need to get radically honest about what's possible. Not just test scores or attendance rates – we're talking about fundamentally reimagining what school could be.

Research shows school leaders who clearly envision their ideal future make decisions that are 3x more likely to create lasting change. T

he key? Write a detailed "Day in the Life" of your dream school one year from now.

Identify Current Reality

Most principals skip this step, rushing straight to solutions. Big mistake.

You wouldn't start a road trip without knowing your location, so why plan your school's transformation that way? This step forces you to get brutally honest about where you are now, creating a clear gap between your present and future state.

Select Strategic Strikes

🌶️ Here's where the RISE Method gets spicy …

Instead of creating endless initiative lists, you'll design 2-3 "Impact Zones" — concentrated areas where focused change will create cascading improvements throughout your school.

Think of it like dominos: Would you rather knock down 100 small pieces or three big ones that trigger an entire chain reaction?

Execute with Energy

The method's secret sauce isn't in the planning – it's in the momentum. You'll choose one "Catalyst Project" to start immediately, supported by a proven accountability system and progress tracking dashboard that actually works in schools.

Why it works: By focusing on transformation over tweaks, the RISE Method helps school leaders avoid the most common planning pitfalls:

• Getting buried in operational details

• Trying to change everything at once

• Losing sight of the bigger vision

The results? We predict you’ll experience:

• Higher teacher retention

• Improved student engagement

• Better outcomes with less burnout

What if you could double your school's growth scores after shifting from traditional planning to the RISE approach?

Better yet, what if you were able to create a campus experience that staff and students LOVED?

That’s the goal.