Strategic planning is a process deliberately designed to help educational leaders conceive of the kinds of institutions that they would like to create to serve their students. Drawn from industry, strategic planning attempts to respond to a wide variety of factors determining the directions that schools should take in planning for the future. Curriculum planning must be a continual process if programs are to remain responsive to changes in society, to the characteristics of learners, and to the most recent knowledge in vital fields. Strategic planning affords a context for increasing the probability of answering each of these needs. The strategic planning process involves (1) analyzing social, economic, demographic, and political forces affecting the schools; (2) identifying needs or weaknesses of the schools' current programs; (3) diagnosing the current health of the school organization; (4) establishing a mission statement; and (5) creating action plans to achieve the established goals. The action plans could involve changing the school organization, developing a curriculum to prepare students for the future, improving teaching, or deciding on steps to take to increase the use of educational technology. To be successful, the strategic planning process must involve educators throughout the system as deeply as possible, and must be designed to obtain widespread support. (PGD)