Portsmouth committee approves superintendent's 2025-26 goals after discussion on metrics and family engagement

The Portsmouth School Committee on Oct. 14 approved the superintendent's district goals for the 2025-26 school year; the vote was unanimous (7-0).

Superintendent Viveiros presented four goals aligned to the district's strategic plan: academic excellence and staff capacity; student and family engagement and well-being; facilities and the five-year capital plan; and budget and resource alignment. The superintendent said baseline data and targets for each goal were included in the document provided to committee members.

Committee members generally praised the goals as measurable and tied to the strategic plan, but several asked for more specificity in how the targets will be measured and how multi-year goals will be handled. One member suggested distinguishing one-year benchmarks from longer-term targets so the evaluation instrument can account for goals that require multi-year work. Members also urged clearer breakdowns of staff professional development and of family engagement efforts.

"The surveys that we're developing are going to be very specific to certain goals," the superintendent said, describing in-house survey items that will act as interim benchmarks and noting that districtwide assessments (RICAS, SAT, PSAT, NGSA) will remain part of the evidence set.

Committee members asked that the superintendent's goals be used to set expectations for central-office administrators and to align the budget and school improvement planning processes with strategic priorities. The superintendent said she would share the finalized goals with building leadership teams and follow up with the committee on reporting and evaluation methods.

The committee voted to approve the goals and directed staff to return with reporting timelines and metrics for subcommittee review.