Blueprint for Continuous Improvement
BLUEPRINT for Continuous Improvement
Learning is an active process of discovery where we cultivate curiosity, perseverance, and the desire to learn.
The Department of Defense entrusts DoDEA with our extraordinary Mission to Educate, Engage, and Empower military-connected students to succeed in a dynamic world. Despite the challenges of the last two years, DoDEA students continue to perform among the highest in the nation on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), and our districts are evaluated at the highest levels through the accreditation process.
There are many factors behind our success as a school system. One key driver of our success is our sharpened focus on the academic, health, and social and emotional needs of our students. This extends beyond the schools, districts, and Region offices to impact our organizational direction. Volume IV of the Blueprint represents a streamlined approach to strategic planning. We critically examined the Goals, Strategic Initiatives, and Critical Success Factors in Volume III for redundancies and areas that had become a part of daily operations. Next, we organized them to create a clear and coherent way forward.
While we were intentional in our efforts to streamline the Blueprint, we also acknowledged room for growth. Volume IV reflects DoDEA’s commitment to our Core Value of Diversity and cements our efforts toward greater diversity, equity, and inclusion. It is essential that all students, employees, and families feel welcomed, respected, engaged, and empowered for DoDEA to successfully meet our mission. As a result, Volume IV intentionally weaves equity throughout the document and includes a new Strategic Initiative supporting the establishment of a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Division along with associated Key Performance Indicators, policies, practices, and learning opportunities to impact DoDEA’s climate.
While every Strategic Initiative within the Blueprint is critical to our success, in my Director’s Focus for Fiscal Year 2023, I identified four key Strategic Initiatives to inform and prioritize organizational planning. The Blueprint for Continuous Improvement is the five-year strategic plan that guides our way forward through School Year 2023-24. To successfully complete the scope of work outlined in the Blueprint, we must thoughtfully plan for the sequenced implementation of our Strategic Initiatives and Critical Success Factors. I will closely monitor our progress during my organizational In-Progress Reviews.
Focus Area 1: Strategic Initiative 1.1: Equitable Learning Experiences for All Students
To provide equitable opportunities for students in a safe and secure learning environment, we will implement programs and supports to address achievement gaps between racial, ethnic, ability, and other identified groups.
Schools must provide learning environments where students feel safe, secure, and supported by the entire learning community. Over the next Fiscal Year, two Critical Success Factors in this Strategic Initiative, 1.1.a Data-Informed Instruction and 1.1.b Differentiated Instruction for All Students, will together ensure that students receive equitable learning opportunities.
Focus Area 2: Strategic Initiative 1.2: Successful Transition to College, Career, and Life
Develop comprehensive programs to support students throughout their primary and secondary education for their transition into college, career, and life.
To prepare students for their transition to college, career, and life, DoDEA must ensure students acquire a wide range of skills necessary for both today and tomorrow. These skills range from academic to social and emotional. Through Strategic Initiative 1.2 and its two supporting Critical Success Factors, 1.2.a Support for Social and Emotional Learning and 1.2.b Promote, Foster, and Support Partnerships for Military-Connected Students with the Military Community, and Families, DoDEA students will receive the skills they need for success in a dynamic world.
Focus Area 3: Strategic Initiative 3.2: Equitable Employee Engagement
Expand opportunities to equitably increase capacity and engagement in the workforce.
DoDEA’s employees are our most important asset. Strategic Initiative 3.2 Equitable Employee Engagement is one pillar of a larger Human Capital Plan that enables us to assess, plan for, and develop the skills we need to achieve our Mission. Critical Success Factor 3.2.a Career Pathways and Progressions with Corresponding Training and Professional Development Opportunities will define how we grow our internal talents through training and career opportunities.
Focus Area 4: Strategic Initiative 4.4: Equity for Students, Employees, and Families
Stand up and grow Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) structures to lead and implement DEI across the organization so that all students, employees, and families feel welcomed, respected, engaged, and empowered.
Strategic Initiative 4.4 Equity for Students, Employees, and Families is a shared responsibility. The newly formed DEI Division will play a critical role in leading DoDEA in this work. However, diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts will be intentionally integrated across our organization into our Human Capital Plan, curricular decisions, and instructional practices as well as into our everyday interactions that continually advance our organizational culture.
As I look towards the final two years of the Blueprint, I am humbled by the strength, excellence, and resilience of our DoDEA community. We will continue our tradition of continuous improvement by completing the work defined in this document and providing opportunities for our students to succeed in a dynamic world.
Thomas M. Brady
Director, DoDEA
In 1946, the Department of Defense charged the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) with providing high-quality education for military-connected students domestically and overseas. Today, DoDEA operates 161 schools in nine districts in 11 foreign countries, seven states, and two territories and enrolls more than 66,000 students, supporting nearly 900,000 military-connected students.
The Blueprint for Continuous Improvement (Blueprint Volume V) is DoDEA’s strategic plan for school years 2018/19 through 2023/24. This document is the fourth volume of the Blueprint.
A blueprint is an actionable plan that communicates and guides the work of all involved in a project. It is flexible and adaptable over time as the project develops. This is also true of the DoDEA Blueprint for Continuous Improvement, which serves as the foundation for all planning within the school system, directs DoDEA’s collective energies and resources, and adjusts to progress and environment shifts. The annual updates provide evidence of DoDEA’s commitment to continuous improvement.
Like its predecessors, Volume IV of the Blueprint houses DoDEA’s Mission, Vision, and Values. Volume IV also includes a summary of changes to help the DoDEA community easily understand the shifts between Volumes III and IV.
