When the People Meet the Plan: Strategic Planning for Equitable Literacy in Boston Public Schools

Abstract

This capstone presents a case study in how a mid-sized urban district approached strategic planning through the use of cross-functional teams. Boston Public Schools (BPS) is the oldest school district in the nation and, in the 2025-2026 school year, it served over 44,000 students across 105 schools. Boston, like many urban districts, faces the persistent challenge of how to improve academic outcomes, particularly in literacy, for students across racial, linguistic, and socio-economic groups. In summer 2025, as I began my doctoral residency in BPS, the district launched a strategic planning process that used cross-functional teams to set priorities and chart a course for the next five years. As part of this effort, I co-facilitated a cross-functional team of central office leaders responsible for developing goals, action steps, and an implementation plan related to the district’s academic focus on equitable literacy. Throughout the capstone, I examine how district leaders approached equitable literacy as a known, prescribed solution to be scaled across the system. The work of the cross-functional team, however, illuminated a different reality. Participants surfaced inconsistencies in how equitable literacy was defined and enacted. Their work also revealed how a lack of clarity about their level of authority constrained the team’s capacity to translate ideas into concrete action aimed at improving outcomes for historically underserved student groups. The capstone also offers a perspective on diagnosing and leading within a complex context. Drawing on the BART (Boundary, Authority, Role, Task) and Cynefin frameworks, I argue that widespread instructional improvement requires innovative approaches that emerge through experimentation and collaboration, rather than the implementation of technical approaches only. These findings have implications for districts and organizations navigating similar challenges. In a context of constrained resources, including declining enrollment and the expiration of ESSER funds, district leaders will continue to face challenges that are complex in nature and require emergent thinking.