West Seneca Central School District leaders presented a three‑year strategic plan September 9 that narrows the district’s work to four priority areas and ties next steps to state graduation expectations and federal accountability requirements.

The district’s strategic plan identifies four pillars — student and family engagement, character and citizenship, the learning environment, and literacy — and will be coupled with the District Comprehensive Improvement Plan (DCIP) and regular accountability checks, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Nora O’Brien told the Board of Education.

Why it matters: the plan reframes the district’s approach to curriculum, assessment and supports after administrators concluded the district was trying to pursue too many initiatives at once. Officials said the new focus is intended to concentrate limited staff time and financial resources on measurable improvement and to meet evolving New York State graduation pathways.

District leaders said the strategic planning committee included students, parents, teachers, counselors, principals and central office staff and that the group reviewed state guidance including the New York State Portrait of a Graduate and recent changes to graduation and assessment approaches. The committee also consulted Erie 1 BOCES during planning, the presentation said.

Key details:
- Curriculum and assessment: The district will build a shared understanding of New York State learning standards, prioritize essential standards and create a district assessment system that includes common formative and summative assessments and an assessment calendar. O’Brien emphasized the risk of inconsistent interpretations of standards: “If you have a standard and you put 20 teachers in the room, you’re gonna have 20 different interpretations,” she said, arguing for a collective, prioritized approach.
- Multi‑Tiered System of Support (MTSS): The plan calls for clearer tier 1/core instruction and targeted tier 2 and tier 3 interventions, with matching interventions to identified student needs and an MTSS calendar for monitoring.
- Work‑based learning: Leaders aim to expand access to internships and job‑shadowing opportunities beyond existing academy students.
- Family supports and community partnerships: The plan highlights the need for stronger family supports and explores options such as a family support center and external partners to expand services.

Accountability and next steps: The district will hold four accountability meetings each year over the three‑year plan to track action‑plan timelines, adjust strategies as new data arrive and report progress. The DCIP will align district, building and classroom work with federal ESSA accountability categories, including subgroup performance, chronic absenteeism and graduation rates, Nora O’Brien said.

Board reaction and staffing notes: Superintendent Dr. Krueger and board members praised the early organization of professional learning and assessment calendars. Dr. Krueger called the work “intentional,” and board members noted department staff had already built professional learning calendars and data review cycles in a short period.

What remains open: the plan creates an action‑plan document with named responsibilities and timelines; accountability meetings will determine adjustments. No board vote to adopt the strategic plan was recorded in the meeting minutes — the presentation was informational and tied to the DCIP work that will be implemented districtwide.

Ending: District leaders said assistant superintendent O’Brien will visit all nine schools this fall to present the plan to faculty and that the district will use the DCIP process to meet state requirements and to target supports where subgroup performance indicates a need.