FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 21, 2018
Oak Ridge Schools Recognized for Strategic Planning Process that Promotes Achievement, Engagement, Transparency, and Accountability
HUNTSVILLE, AL. (February 21, 2018) –Oak Ridge Schools was recognized by LEAN Frog and the Tennessee Organization of School Superintendents (TOSS) as a Tennessee finalist in the Tri-State Best K-12 Practices Contest. Executive Director of School Leadership Bruce Lay and Supervisor of Career Readiness and Communications Holly Cross accepted the $1,000 cash prize for their school system’s entry at the 2018 TOSS Legislative and Learning Conference. As a finalist, ORS will compete for the $4,000 grand prize with Tennessee co-finalist Warren County Schools, Alabama co-finalists Eufaula City Schools and Muscle Shoals City Schools and co-finalists from Louisiana who will be determined this spring.


The Oak Ridge Strategic Plan 2020 is an initiative developed by the superintendent, teachers, administrators, and community members to improve ORS processes in five critical areas: academic excellence, educator excellence, learning environment excellence, operational excellence, and stakeholder excellence.

“The Oak Ridge Strategic Plan 2020 is a hallmark of engagement, transparency, and accountability,” said Dr. Sherri Headrick, LEAN Frog Director of Marketing and Personnel. “The use of KPIs and the scorecard is the extra step that many school systems do not take. Our judges were very impressed with the commitment ORS has made to continuous improvement.”

Superintendent Bruce Borchers, in partnership with educators, administrators, and community members, began the development of the insightful and sustainable strategic plan in 2016. Through a collaborative process, goals (i.e., academic, educator, learning environment, operational, and stakeholder excellence) were identified, clearly defined, and communicated. Each goal was assigned a designated owner. The owner tracks progress toward the goal and reports on the goal to the board of education and the community. ORS celebrates met goals. For example, students were recognized for being certified in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator as part of the academic excellence goal of promoting critical thinking skills and problem-based learning. Improvement opportunities and strategies are identified for goals that are not met. The ORS team identifies strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to improvement in each area. The result is a best practice that enhances stakeholder engagement, increases organizational transparency, and helps Oak Ridge Schools accomplish its mission of preparing students for college, career, and life success.

“I am extremely proud of our staff, students, and the community for coming together to create our ORS Strategic Plan 2020,” said Dr. Borchers, Superintendent of ORS. “This Strategic Plan is all about continuous improvement and achieving excellence in education. It is an important and detailed framework for ORS that envisions our future and sets strategic goals to realize that future. We truly appreciate this recognition from LEAN Frog.”