Planning for Success
In Massachusetts
Monitoring and Reporting on Action Plan Progress
Creating a System to Support Effective Use of the Action Plan;
Publicly Reporting on Progress to Build Understanding and Trust
Why This Step is Important: For many districts, an action plan marks a change in district
practice. District leadership teams may not be accustomed to monitoring and reporting on an
action plan in progress and will need to develop the routines and structures that support their
effective use of the plan. For example, in the area of monitoring, district teams may want to
define roles and responsibilities; develop expectations and a process for how benchmark
owners will report on progress; and discuss how the leadership team will adjust the action plan
if benchmarks are not met. In the area of public reporting, for example, district teams may want
to define roles and responsibilities; create a simple and accessible format for reporting
progress; and define a process and timeline for updating stakeholders, such as teachers,
families, and school committee members.
Work on the monitoring and public reporting system can occur at any point during action plan
development, or throughout the process of plan development. Thinking about how the district
team will monitor and report on benchmarks will be helpful to the team as it sets these
benchmarks.
Affinity Mapping Protocol: While many protocols may be useful in designing the monitoring
and reporting system, one protocol that has proven helpful in the Planning for Success process
is the Affinity Mapping Protocol. The Affinity Mapping Protocol, which includes guidelines for
facilitators in how to work with groups to conduct this process, was adapted by Ross PetersonVeatch, and is available from:
 The National School Reform Faculty (NSRF), at
http://www.nsrfharmony.org/system/files/protocols/affinity_mapping_0.pdf
 The School Reform Initiative (SRI), at
http://schoolreforminitiative.org/doc/affinity_mapping.pdf
The Monitoring and Public Reporting Process: If the district team conducted a SWOT Analysis,
as described in the Planning for Success guide, “Analyzing District Planning Practices and
Culture,” results of that analysis can be helpful in the design of the monitoring and reporting
system. The planning team may want to review these results for guidance about how the
monitoring and reporting system can provide an opportunity to address some of the district’s
existing practice and cultural issues.
The guiding question the planning team will want to focus on in designing the monitoring and
reporting system is: What are the characteristics of a progress monitoring and reporting system
that will best support your district? As teams consider this question, they should imagine what a
monitoring and reporting system looks like that:
 Addresses the practice and culture needs of their district
 Supports their district’s improvement process
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Planning for Success
In Massachusetts

Supports their community’s understanding of and commitment to that process
Examples of monitoring and reporting system characteristics that team members might identify
could include “easily updatable,” “realistic reporting dates,” “monthly sharing of progress in
leadership meetings,” or “feedback vehicle that keeps the pulse on how all stakeholders are
feeling.” Such characteristics might then be grouped by the team into categories such as
“documentation,” “timelines,” “leadership behavior,” and “culture.”
The process below describes how to use the Affinity Mapping Protocol in designing a
monitoring and public reporting system.
1. Review results from the SWOT Analysis, if conducted, to refresh the team’s memory of
the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats the team identified in relation to
the district’s planning practices and culture.
2. Pose the guiding question for group consideration and discussion.
3. Organize into small mixed groups of 4-5 participants each. Follow the Affinity Mapping
Protocol. With this protocol, participants will list one system characteristic on each
stickie, post their stickies on chart paper, and then regroup all participants’ stickies to
create categories. Allow approximately 45 minutes for small groups to conduct the
Affinity Mapping Protocol.
4. Reconvene as a whole group. Ask the facilitators of all small groups to share the
categories their groups created. As a group, identify common themes across categories.
5. Collect the charts/documented work from the recorders of all small groups. Type up and
distribute results of the Affinity Mapping process to all team members. Use results as
the basis for drafting a monitoring and reporting system.
Time Required: This session requires approximately 1.5 hours to complete, depending on the
number of participants and small groups that will report out.
Text for Facilitator Presentation Slides: Some suggested text for presentation slides to support
developing an action plan monitoring and reporting system is included below.
Slide 1: SWOT Results
 What do your SWOT reflections say about what you would like to see in a monitoring
and reporting process?
Slide 2: Designing the Monitoring Process
 What are the characteristics of a progress monitoring and reporting system that will best
support your district?
 Imagine what a monitoring and reporting system will look like that:
o Addresses the practice and culture needs of your district
o Supports your district’s improvement process
o Supports your community’s understanding of and commitment to that process
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Planning for Success
In Massachusetts
Slide 3: Affinity Mapping Protocol
 Each participant takes 5 to 10 stickies
 Working silently, write one idea/sticky note
 One by one, each participant adds their stickies to the chart
 As participants add, they should regroup stickies to create categories
 Once all stickies are posted, talk with one another and label the categories
 Identify a spokesperson to share your work
Adapted by Ross Peterson-Veatch,
http://schoolreforminitiative.org/doc/affinity_mapping.pdf
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