Department of Defense Education Activity

Achieving the Vision

DoDEA’s Vision defines our long term destination as a school system.  The Blueprint includes a number of supporting elements that will guide DoDEA’s efforts towards achieving the Vision.  Several of these elements draw from the Community Strategic Plan (CSP) and should be familiar to the DoDEA community including the mission, values, and goals statements.  However, in order to galvanize DoDEA’s efforts as we move into the future, the Blueprint also includes several new elements: key results indicators, strategic initiatives, and critical success factors.

Key Results Indicators

Key Results Indicators (KRIs) are strategic level metrics that assess DoDEA’s progress towards each goal.  DoDEA’s goals are far reaching and multifaceted.  In order to capture all of the factors that impact a goal, the KRIs are not a single measure, but represent the aggregate results of many smaller actions that ultimately contribute to a goal’s success.  Monitoring progress is essential to DoDEA’s continuous improvement model.  As progress is made, plans can stay the course or adjust as changes are required.

Using KRIs to track organizational progress represents a change from the CSP which tracked student performance on individual assessments in performance measures.  Benchmarks for individual assessments will be published in Functional Area Action Plans.

Strategic Initiatives

DoDEA identified five goals necessary to realize its Vision: Student Excellence, School Excellence, Talent Excellence, Organizational Excellence, and Outreach Excellence.  Progress towards each Goal is driven by Strategic Initiatives.  Strategic Initiatives are high level, cross-functional initiatives that impact the entire organization.  Each will last a number of years, but can be revised and updated as progress is made or DoDEA’s needs change.  There are two to three Strategic Initiatives for each goal.  The number of initiatives is limited to balance the need for progress and DoDEA’s capacity to enact change.

Critical Success Factors

Critical Success Factors define the most important actions that must be accomplished to implement a Strategic Initiative.  If the actions described by the Critical Success Factor are not completed, the Strategic Initiative will not be completed.  Each Strategic Initiative has between three and eight Critical Success Factors.  These are short- or long-term projects that require the significant effort of many employees to complete.

In order to achieve the goals defined in the Blueprint for Continuous Improvement, DoDEA will implement a Comprehensive Planning System (CPS).  Using the Blueprint for Continuous Improvement as its foundation, the CPS provides a deliberate approach to integrated planning, budgeting, and accountability.  The annual process aligns and integrates long-range plans from all DoDEA functional    areas; Headquarters Division Action Plans, Centers for Instructional Leadership (CIL) Action Plans, District Improvement Plans, School Improvement Plans, and individual performance plans in the Defense Performance Management  and Appraisal program.

DoDEA’s Vision statement

Vision: Excellence in Education for Every Student, Every Day, Everywhere

Mission:  Educate, Engage, and Empower military-connected students to succeed in a dynamic world.

Core Values:

  • Student-Centered: Students are at the heart of all we do.
  • Excellence: We strive to exceed expectations in all we do.
  • Continuous Improvement: Our organization, its systems, and processes will be continually re-examined and improved.
  • Lifelong Learning: Learning is an active process of discovery where we cultivate curiosity, perseverance, and the desire to learn.
  • Diversity: We honor the uniqueness of each individual and embrace diverse beliefs and backgrounds. We respect differences and create inclusive environments which contribute to a better society for all.
  • Individual Potential: Individuals develop within an environment that nurtures intellectual, social, emotional, physical, and creative growth.
  • Shared Responsibility: Partnerships among families, students, staff, and community members are characterized by mutual commitment and collaborative effort that enrich the lives of our students.
  • Trust: We value relationships based on integrity, mutual respect, and open two-way communication. We cultivate a safe and risk-free culture that encourages and inspires innovation.