Strategic Plan

In 2002, the Colonial Intermediate Unit 20 embarked on a strategic planning effort. A change in Intermediate Unit leadership occurred in 2005 making a renewed strategic planning effort in 2007 timely and necessary to guide the organization forward in meeting new challenges.

Colonial Intermediate Unit 20 (CIU), along with 28 other intermediate units, was established in 1971 as an Act of the Pennsylvania legislature. Its role was to serve as the middle tier in a three-tier education system with local school districts and the Pennsylvania Department of Education as the other two components. Intermediate Units were to provide centralized services and programs in an effort to save costs through economies of scale. Although the provision of special education services is often seen as the central program of service offered by CIU, the CIU has expanded to meet growing district needs in technology; curriculum, school improvement, and professional development; early childhood; nonpublic school services; business services; financial services, and mental health services.

CIU serves 13 school districts in Monroe, Northampton, and Pike Counties, along with 25 nonpublic schools, 3 vocational/career institutes, preschool programs, and numerous mental health agencies in all three counties. The agency employs approximately 975 full-time staff and an additional 300 part-time staff. CIU’s current fiscal year budget is $145 million, $71 million of which funds a regional, employee health insurance trust.

CIU has established as its core principles to be proactive, cohesive, data-driven and data- informed, with high accountability and great communication. The agency strives (1) to strengthen and supplement local school district programs and services to children and their families; (2) to provide leadership without dominance; and (3) to provide assistance without interference.

The CIU has seen unparallel growth in its last decade yet faces many challenges even in areas that have been affected by growth. A strong strategic plan, developed with full input and collaboration with CIU’s major stakeholders will ensure that the intermediate unit continues to be the leader in the provision of education and services for children and adults in its service region.

With that in mind, the purpose of the current strategic planning effort is:

to examine the direction of the IU and align its actions and resources, both in the short-term and the long-term, to the needs and expectations of its stakeholders;
to involve the IU’s stakeholders in setting the framework for action;
to provide a common understanding among stakeholders of what the IU will be doing and why it will be doing it in the years ahead;
to establish the IU and stakeholders as allies in meeting the challenges we face and that are to come;
to answer the question “How is performance for the IU to be defined?”;
to establish baseline data regarding the IU’s current performance and set benchmarks for how it is to perform for the future;
to set specific strategic goals leading to a high performance organization that all IU employees and stakeholders can collectively support and agree to achieve;
to provide a basis upon which decisions can be made about what is done and not done;
to provide a basis for departmental goals and objectives and the allocation of tasks;
to identify resources (both human and material) that will be required for future success; and
to provide for a continuous review and improvement cycle for IU actions.

An independent consultant, Dr. Angelo Senese, was hired to assist in the overall planning process but especially in the development of the needs assessment. A steering committee composed of representatives from major stakeholder groups was then formed to guide the process. The committee met throughout the 2006-2007 school year and completed the following tasks:

1. Reviewed the CIU’s Vision / Mission / Beliefs;

2. Held extensive dialogue sessions regarding the 3Rs Framework (Relationships / Responsiveness / Results);

What are the components of each?
What does each “mean” to districts – What do they look like?
How do we measure each within “key result areas?”
What are the IU’s “key result areas” for stakeholders?

3. Designed/developed the needs assessment instruments;

4. Reviewed the needs assessment data and identified strengths, challenges, and opportunities;

5. Identified strategic goals based on data within and across key result areas; and

6. Formulated key strategies and objectives for each goal.

The steering committee will meet two times per year throughout the implementation of the strategic plan to evaluate and monitor progress on achievement of the plan’s goals.

Successful implementation of the strategic plan’s identified goals, strategies, and objectives will allow CIU 20 to fulfill its mission and vision through its core principles and values and emerge a stronger organization in 2012 than it is today.