Upper Dublin School District unveils draft 2025–28 comprehensive plan and opens 28-day public comment period

The Upper Dublin School District presented a draft comprehensive plan for 2025–28 during its February legislative meeting, with Superintendent Dr. Smith and Mrs. Drennan asking the community to review the document during a 28-day public display period and submit feedback ahead of anticipated board action in late March.

The plan, required by the Commonwealth every three years, proposes the tagline “inspiring learners and empowering futures,” a mission statement emphasizing a “safe, inclusive, and inquisitive community of learners,” and five core values: inclusivity, academic rigor, educational equity, being inquisitive, and innovative experiences. Dr. Smith said the steering committee—composed of district stakeholders—helped draft the mission, vision and values and that the plan is intended to be a “living, breathing” guide for district decisions.

Nut graf: The draft lays out measurable, SMART goals and academic-focused action areas the district plans to pursue from 2025–28. District leaders said the document is formatted to meet state template requirements but that they will produce executive summaries and separate action plans to make progress and reporting clearer to the public.

Administrators described the plan’s primary focus as continuous improvement in instruction and student outcomes, with measurable aims across multiple years. Mrs. Drennan told the board the goals begin on page 32 of the plan and are presented with baselines and year 1–3 incremental targets. Focus areas identified by the steering committee include a K–12 STEM continuum in response to revised Pennsylvania science standards, strengthening instructional practices and observational measures for teachers, adoption of evidence-based multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) addressing academics and social-emotional needs, and work to improve secondary mathematics proficiency.

Dr. Smith said the district will publish the plan on the website and place physical copies in each school and the public library. She said the district will accept narrative feedback via a QR-coded link and expects feedback to be collected by March 17; the board is scheduled to consider approval of a final draft at its March 24 meeting before submission to the state. Mrs. Drennan and Dr. Smith said the publicly posted plan includes the state-required template documents (about six linked reports) and supporting materials such as the induction plan, Act 48 professional development plan, special education and gifted education reports.

Board members thanked the steering committee and administration for the months of work and emphasized ongoing reporting and transparent metrics. Board member Ms. Sharpier asked how the district will measure progress; Dr. Smith said the plan includes observation rubrics and other measures and that separate action plans with steps, timelines and reporting are expected. Mrs. Drennan reiterated that each goal has a baseline and incremental, year-by-year steps in the comprehensive plan.

Ending: The draft plan is now on public display per state rules; the district will accept feedback and return to the board in March for final action and state submission. If approved and accepted by the state, district leaders said most implementation and public reporting would occur with the 2025–26 school year.