The paper reviews the plan. Are the priorities significant? Is it Data-driven? Is it Impactful? Is the timeline realistic? Is this Monitored? Resourced? Are all stakeholders represented? Appropriate to the task? Accountable? Resourced?

Set Context Briefly

Education has become a contentious and polarizing issue within the United States. Research has shown that the nation overall, approves and supports investment in education (Allison, 2005). Most citizens recognize the importance of education and its ability to enhance the outcomes of those who learn high demand skills and trades. Education is an essential element in Americas ability to properly compete with other nations on a much more global basis. As a result, America has the highest spending per capita on education than any other developed nation in the world (Adams, 1987). Unfortunately, the results have not manifested themselves in the manner that is congruent with the investment. Outcomes have been adversely impacted by a litany of factors that dont show any signs of abating.

First, educational budgets are very constrained as government look to grapple with higher educational costs with lower revenues from taxes. This issue is exacerbated due to COVID-19 and its impact on both school quality alongside business and tax revenue. Here, schools are now forced to improve academic outcomes without the necessary resources to do so. Next, quality teachers are in short supply which causes large rates of churn with the academic environment. It is no secret that teachers are not well compensated. The low compensations combine with the stressful work environment has contributed to shortages in many high growth markets in the United States. Teacher shortages have impacted the overall quality of education as lessor skilled individuals are now filling these positions thus contributing to the low academic performance the nation is currently experiencing. In addition, there are large disparities in the overall quality of education as it relates to academic achievement of schools within the same jurisdiction. For some the combination of lack of resources and lack of qualified instruction contributes heavily to the adverse circumstances experienced by certain schools. Finally, many schools are assessed based on metrics related to standardized testing. As a result, teachers often teach to the test as oppose to skill acquisition. The standardized test, although helpful, doesnt capture the ability of students to properly obtain the skills and abilities required to matriculated into society. Instead, these tests often look to assess the students ability to answer multiple choice questions, which ultimately, does not have a positive impact on student outcome. Education of the future, particularly in the technology age, will focus heavily on critical thinking skills and the ability for students to solve very complex problems. Certain education systems have not adopted policies by which to help students better matriculate in these circumstances (Anderson, 1998).

These influences have created a large headwind as it relates to education within the United States. Although well intentioned, many policies such as standardized testing, lack of teacher accountability, and lack of resources have impacted student outcomes. This has ultimately caused the United States to fall behind many of its developed peers as it relates to education standards and outcomes. Thankfully, through thought, foresight, and planning, many of these headwinds can be overcome. None of the issue presented above are structural. More resources can be allocated to education on a much more strategic basis. School choice initiatives allow parents to place their kids within better performing schools, thus allowing them to improve outcomes. Teachers shortages can be alleviated through higher pay, training, compensation, and improved working environments. All of these elements are within the purview of society and thus can be leveraged to improve overall educational outcomes (Fain, 2008).

Describe and critique the process used

Acero schools in Chicago is attempting to provide many of the improvement mentioned above. Its strategic plan looks to leverage the learnings of the past to provide a comprehensive and holistic learning environment. What makes the strategic plan so unique is its emphasis on the bilingual and Hispanic community. The strategic planning process overall for the school is unique in that is heavily emphasizes the future of minority and bilingual students. This is unique in that many programs often dont look to recognize the unique and cultural influences that impact learning. The 2020 census published by the United States government indicates an emerging trend towards diversity. Soon, many minority groups will become the majority collectively. The country itself continues to be much more diverse, representing a broad array of customs and beliefs. It is this diversity that makes America itself so unique relative to other nations around the world. Our school system unfortunately still does not adequately reflect this diversity. As mentioned above, many schools, particularly those that focus on minority outcomes, dont have the resources to compete with other schools. Many must deal with varying government objectives such as standardized testing, psychical activity standards, classroom size, and more, with little to no financial resources. The mission and vision of Acero schools looks to alleviate this.

The mission of Acero schools is to transform minds through academic empowerment and success. This concept of empowerment is very unique to the education industry. Currently, many students are not empowered as it relates to their education. Instead they are often forced to learn standardized, boilerplate topics that often do not have an implicationfor their life. A common example is trigonometry. Although math related concepts are important, many students in their lifetime will not use trigonometry. However, this is a required course in many states in the nation. This is in contrast with financial literacy, another math course that every student is guaranteed to use in their lifetime. Financial literacy courses are still not required in many states around the nation despite its importance to the overall student population. This concept of empowerment is therefore needed as it allows students to better negate with the material presented. It also allows instructors and administrators to provide content that is relevant specifically for students using real world context. This is important as students now need to compete on a global basis. Basic skills are no longer a luxury but a requirement as international competition makes its very difficult to differentiate student performance. As a result, students must be properly equipped with skills and abilities that give them a competitive advantage in what is becoming a much more dynamic environment. The Acero school does this be empowering minority students and holding them accountable for the...…is maintained under a variety of economic and financial conditions. In order to issue debt, the schools must have a credit rating from one of the big three credit rating agencies. These are S&P, Moodys and Fitch. The school plan includes a provision that the credit rating of the school must be stable according to a top credit rating agency. This improve sustainability as a good credit rating allows the firm to lower its cost of debt capital employed in the business. Finally, the school plan requires a liquidity ratio of one. Here again, liquidity is needed to help the school withstand any shocks or disruptions to their overall business operations. As it relates to the schools strategic plan, the financial component is arguable the most important element. It allows the school to maintain its operations, pay higher salaries, and expand its influence into other cities, all while achieve outcomes higher than the national average (Grensing-Pophal, 2011).

Summarize your recommendations

After review of the strategic plan, it appears that Acero schools have a very thorough and viable strategy moving forward. The plan is very comprehensive and looks to address many of the shortcomings of traditional schools. First, the plan has a very robust financial directive that allows the school to maintain operations under any economic circumstances. Next, the plans allow for higher jobs satisfaction for teachers, instructors, staff, and leaders. It looks to pay teachers commensurate with their contributions to the school while also holding them accountable for the outcomes that occur. Leadership provides an environment in which teachers are promoted and engaged throughout the year as oppose to simply being complacent with the status quo. The culture of Acero schools is one that provides a data-driven approach to the overall curriculum, with an emphasis on culturally sensitive topics. This all combines to make a school system that exceeds nearly all national averages as it relates to academic performance and college readiness. To improve the plan, I would look to engage in partnerships to help expand the program to more cities. I would include investments from high net worth clients in exchange for a portion of the profits that the school generates. This will allow the school to quickly expand and impact more children in a cost-effective manner. I would also add metrics relates to STEM related fields within the strategic plan. This is important as STEM related industries are expected to grow exponentially in the future. In order for minority students to better compete, they will need access to the skills required in these industries. STEM related industries will become the future of enterprise in American and abroad. We are already seeing the large growth of technology firms and their overall impact on human civilization. To better prepare students, they should be exposed to these fields as early as possible to ensure they are well equipped to handle the coming labor shift. Finally, I would include a financial literacy course within the strategic plan. The communities in which the school addresses are heavily minority based. As a result, they traditionally have very low wealth and income according to the latest statistics. A financial literacy course will be critical for students as they leverage their learnings to obtain high paying positions…