The Shifting Role of State Education Agencies: Lessons Learned From Strategic Planning With the Delaware Department of Education

Abstract

Through this capstone, I explore the unique dynamics I encountered in the Delaware Department of Education during the department’s final year as a federal Race to the Top grant recipient. This document describes my intended work for the department, culminating in a two-year strategic plan. The goal of my theory of action was to ensure that the resources of the department were aligned to a focused set of priorities, reflecting a balance of accountability and support. Through the following sections I explore the rationale for my work, results achieved, and attempt an explanation of the results themselves. I close with implications for my own leadership, the site itself, and the sector as a whole. In the Review of Knowledge for Action, I explore the role of State Education Agencies (SEA) as both a support body and a monitoring and accountability agency, and develop a personal theory of action that guided my work within the department. The role of the SEA in the sector is a complex one where opportunity and tension exist simultaneously in the pursuit of creating conditions for improved academic outcomes for students. As I discuss, both the literature and the day-to-day operations of the department demonstrate challenges in this work. The Results and Analysis components of the capstone explain in greater detail the goals and outcomes of my strategic project, and expand on the complexities of the Delaware Department of Education leadership team. Through the use of the Note for Analyzing Workgroups (Harvard Business School, 1998) I explore both structures and embedded culture within the state and the department, and discuss how these impacted the strategic plan. In the Implications component I illuminate both tensions and opportunities for the department in light of the local and national turbulence around the balance of accountability and support. This capstone aims provide insights into the complex role of State Education Agencies as they seek to both fulfill their core function and take on an increasingly dynamic role influencing and impacting academic outcomes for students in their state.