From Vision to Action: Planning a Purposeful School Year with CARE [School Leaders]

From Vision to Action: Planning a Purposeful School Year with CARE

You’ve likely spent part of this summer thinking about the kind of school year you want to lead.

Maybe you’ve been reflecting on school culture. Maybe you're focused on boosting student outcomes. Maybe you just want to start strong and stay focused amid the daily chaos of school leadership.

Whatever your vision, the challenge now is turning intention into impact. That’s where the CARE Framework comes in—a tool to help school leaders plan with focus, clarity, and alignment.

The CARE Framework

A strong school plan considers four interconnected dimensions of school life:

CARE Domain Guiding Questions

Culture What kind of environment are we cultivating—for students and staff?

Academics What instructional practices or systems need attention?

Relationships How are we building connection, trust, and belonging among all

members of our school?

Equity Where are we disrupting inequity, and where might it persist?

Let’s See It in Action

Here are two examples of how a big-picture goal can be grounded using CARE:

Goal: Create a more inclusive school climate for LGBTQ+ students

(Primary CARE domain: Culture)

CARE Area Example Focus

Culture Revise school mission statement and handbook to explicitly affirm LGBTQ+ students

Academics Audit English and Health curriculum for representation and bias

Relationships Support GSA advisor and build time for affinity spaces

Equity Train staff in recognizing and interrupting gender- and sexuality- based microaggressions

Goal: Improve student achievement in STEM, especially among underrepresented groups

(Primary CARE domain: Academics)

CARE Area Example Focus

Culture Celebrate STEM success stories during morning announcements and assemblies

Academics Use common assessments to track data and adjust instruction

Relationships Launch peer tutoring and STEM mentoring initiatives

Equity Disaggregate achievement data by race/gender and provide targeted support

Ready to Get Started?

Use CARE to scaffold your thinking, stay aligned with your values, and build the infrastructure needed to support meaningful change in your school.

Download the CARE Planning Worksheet here to outline your top priorities and next steps before the first day of school.

The CARE Framework was developed by Mauceri Education to help schools align goals with action across multiple dimensions of school life.

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This blog post was created by Nina Mauceri, PhD, with editorial assistance from AI.