This manual is intended to serve independent schools beginning strategic planning methods. Chapter 1, "The Case for Strategic Planning," suggests replacing the term "long range planning" with the term "strategic planning," which emphasizes change. The strategic planning and policy development process begins with careful organization to ensure orderly progression: format and timetable, composition of the planning team, data to be assembled for the team's use. The process continues by concentrating the team's attention on external and internal issues before it begins to develop consensus on the mission and general goals of the school for the future. The process leads to a two-part result: the strategic plan, a conceptual report to the school's board recommending a series of goals for policy, which provides the basis for the operating plan, sometimes also called an action or implementation plan. The process is much like strategic planning for other kinds of organizations, except that it takes into account the nature of an independent school. It focuses widely on trends for the future as well as on what has happened in the past and what is happening now. It identifies why a school exists, the school's long-term vision, and the possible means for achieving that vision. "Getting Started," chapter 2, discusses team members and leaders and the choice of an appropriate timetable. Information needed includes mission statements, previous reports, a budget, salary ranges, faculty size, and student enrollment. The process's strategic planning phase involves specific steps that are enumerated in chapter 3, "Strategic Planning." In addition to brainstorming, the school's external and internal climates must be analyzed. The team must project school characteristics to design effective strategies, divulge common themes, and translate them into policy goals. The mission statement and planning report then emerge. Chapter 4, "Strategic Action," examines steps comprising the strategic action phase, which involve implementation plan design, integration with finances, execution, appraisal, and continuous planning. The concluding chapter, "Parting Words," offers cautionary advice and additional benefits to strategic planning. Eight appendices include a bibliography, process diagram, sample timetables, policy goals, and available publication sources. (CJH)