For four years, Ernest Garrett III has been known as the man with the plan - the Missouri School for the Deaf's strategic plan.
Under Garrett's leadership as superintendent at MSD, in Fulton, the school implemented a strategic plan, remolded the school's culture to include empowerment and acceptance, and redefined what it means to build a resume for their students.
"It's not something I can do alone," Garrett said. "I do it with a team of people who are passionate about improving the educational outcomes for deaf and hard-of-hearing students - ensuring that they are college and career ready."
When Garrett was hired, he was tasked with leading the school through the strategic plan process, in addition to getting accustomed to the way things worked at the school.
Under Garrett's plan, the board approved the adoption of a new school motto, "Education without limits," and is working to improve the school's outreach across the state.
"Of course, we focus on our residential life population program," Garrett said, "but the Missouri School for the Deaf has a great opportunity to be a leader in special education services for deaf and hard of hearing population across the state."
By using the strategic plan, he said, the school has identified opportunities to be a resource for local education agencies and to partner with the state agencies to increase visibility of resources and programs.
Despite MSD's existence since 1851, Garrett said many communities still are not aware of its programs. The school offers services for children in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, with the ability to offer deaf education consultants and licensed speech language pathologists to off-campus local education agencies.
"There are bound to be competing priorities within any institution, but the strategic plan has provided us a way to focus all of our educational efforts on improving educational outcomes for deaf and hard of hearing students," Garrett said. "We have a new vision, mission and motto that helps us focus on our strengths."
In order to do this, Garrett feels it is important for outsiders to be able to relate on a foundational level that promotes excellence and partnerships.
Starting this fall, Garrett and his faculty will advocate a new promotion, titled "What's on your resume?"
"It gives me a way to engage and connect with everyone on this campus as well as external stakeholders about what we do here," Garrett said. "When we say we are in the business of building our students' resumes, people can relate to that. It doesn't matter if they go to college or are seeking employment, they're going to need a resume."
Garrett noted the implementation of the strategic plan and the longevity of his career at MSD as two things he takes the most pride in throughout his tenure.
As a young school administrator, Garrett advises young people to be strategic in their educational plan, taking all of the necessary classes to meet long-term career goals, have a diverse career background and to practice self care.
"Back in the day, people worked their way up the ladder in a traditional program; but now, in this rapidly changing, technologically sophisticated world, CEOs are looking for those with a diverse profile," Garrett said. "Work constantly to build your resume so that you can compete."