A strategic plan begins with a mission statement. This document briefly summarizes the district's purpose and operations, what it wants to accomplish, and what it does. All the organization's goals should support this statement. Cooper recommends that those participating in the planning process then identify major trends affecting the school district. Answering such questions enables planners to determine which trends should play the largest role in molding their plan.
Most authors recommend a less structured approach to the initial planning process.
Within these groups participants discuss, combine, and rank their goals for the district. Representatives from each group report to the larger body so that everyone shares a sense of cohesion and consensus. Once the planning group enjoys a degree of consensus, it can release its goals to subcommittees that formulate objectives for each goal. They should specify when the task is to be completed and who is responsible for completing it. The person assigned to that objective and the date by which it should be completed can also be included in the plan.