Huntington Board approves 2025–2027 strategic plan after multi-month community process

The Huntington Union Free School District Board of Education on March 25 approved a strategic plan that will guide the district from 2025 through 2027, board members said during the meeting.

The plan, described by district leaders at the meeting as “a blueprint for excellence,” lays out four priority areas — academic excellence, student and family experience, operations, and family and community engagement — and attaches goals and action steps to each area.

Superintendent Jacqueline (presenting the plan) said the district used a multi-month, community-driven process to develop the plan. “The strategic plan represents this blueprint for excellence that will guide us from 2025 to 2027,” she said, adding the work began with a ThoughtExchange in October 2024 and proceeded through a stakeholder community team in November and administrative action-plan development in December and January.

Deputy Superintendent Mr. Hender summarized the four priorities and the associated goals, telling the board the academic goal is to “empower all students with the foundational and advanced skills, confidence and adaptability needed to thrive in the evolving demands of post secondary education and the modern workforce.” He said the student-and-family goal emphasizes equity, access and enrichment opportunities; operations focuses on safety, security and equitable resource allocation; and family and community engagement aims to “actively engage and empower all families as partners in their child's educational journey.”

District leaders described several specific next steps and timelines: posting the full plan on the district website if the board approved it; unpacking the plan for faculty and staff between February and June; producing annual beginning-of-year, midyear and end-of-year reports; and conducting a “blueprint refresh” at the end of 2027 to reassess priorities. The superintendent also said administrative templates will be assigned so individual administrators know which actions they will lead in each year of the plan.

Board members moved and seconded adoption of the plan and the motion passed by voice vote with those present indicating unanimous support. The meeting record shows the motion to approve the plan and the second were called (mover: Theresa; second: Tom) and the chair asked, “All in favor? That's everyone.”

School leaders said the plan incorporates items the community raised in the ThoughtExchange, including questions about food service offerings and communications. The superintendent said the district has already begun targeted communications about food and nutrition and plans other outreach as action steps are implemented.

The plan names specific operational items for further study, including research into after-school transportation costs, controlled-access upgrades such as swipe-card entry at secondary buildings, expanded administrative presence at arrival and dismissal, and continued exploration of grants and partnerships to expand student experiences.

The board approved the strategic plan as the formal document to be posted to the district website; district staff said detailed action plans and annual reporting will follow.

The district will present implementation updates annually and revisit the blueprint in 2027 to determine whether another ThoughtExchange is needed.