Haverford Township School District consultant Judy Wilson presented an overview of the district’s recently completed strategic-planning effort, saying the process produced four major goal areas and established committees to write 18-month action plans that the district expects before the end of the school year.

The plan — described by Wilson as “the Haverford commitment” — names four umbrella goals: academic excellence in an evolving world; preparing future-ready learners through intentional use of technology; belonging through equitable and inclusive practices; and social-emotional competence as a foundation for academic success. “We will lead and support the academic growth of all learners and will guide them to be intellectually curious, empathetic, hardworking, persistent, resilient, and kind,” Wilson said.

Why it matters: the board and community framed the plan as a roadmap for aligning professional learning, resources and measurable benchmarks over the next 18 months. Wilson told the board the work was grounded in extensive local input — more than 4,600 survey responses, one-on-one conversations with about 25 local leaders, seven community forums (about 25 participants each) and a two-day core team convening of 38 participants.

Most important facts: Wilson said action-plan co-chairs have already been selected and that work teams are drafting specific steps for each goal area. She said committees aim to deliver action plans “probably before June 1” and that some recommended work will occur over the summer; she also said the next planning work period would extend through July into January 2027. Wilson said the district will continue monthly communications to the community and will include the district’s next superintendent, Dr. Hayes, in transition conversations about the early shaping of the work.

Board discussion centered on the new language and emphasis in the social-emotional goal. Several board members questioned whether wording that frames “social emotional competence” emphasizes outward skills and measurable competencies rather than students’ internal wellbeing. One board member asked how the plan will support students who currently struggle with social-emotional skills and whether the goal as worded felt like an expectation for students rather than a supportive promise. Wilson said the committees will translate the broad goals into specific, teachable skills and measurable benchmarks and that the action-plan committees are the venue to work through implementation details.

Board members and Wilson also highlighted that the district’s prior plan produced enduring practices and programs now embedded across the district; Wilson and several board members said this round of planning is intended as an evolutionary update rather than a wholesale replacement of prior work. Wilson noted the district’s history of centering students and community input in planning and praised the participation of students, faculty and families during the recent convenings.

What happens next: co-chairs for each goal area are working with committees of roughly five additional members to research models, take inventory of current district efforts and identify next best steps. Wilson said those committees will bring measurable benchmarks and progress markers to the board and that more detailed status reports and action plans will be presented prior to the end of the school year.

The board did not take any formal vote or adopt a final plan during this presentation; Wilson framed the session as a status report and preview of committee work to come.