Greece Central cabinet reports mixed mid‑year progress on Reach 2027 strategic plan

The Greece Central School District superintendent and cabinet presented a mid‑year update on the district’s five‑year strategic plan, Reach 2027, reporting incremental progress in several areas and identifying measures that require more work.

The presentation, led by district cabinet members and Superintendent Smalling, reviewed three commitments in the plan — Ignite Learning, Cultivate Trust and Expand Opportunity — and reported mid‑year metrics on professional learning hours, inclusion of students with disabilities in general education settings, ELA and math achievement and growth (I‑Ready diagnostics), perception survey results and social‑emotional learning screeners.

Dr. Baker, speaking for the cabinet, summarized the plan’s purpose and described Reach 2027 as the district’s guiding document for school improvement and budgeting: “This is a 5 year plan,” he said, explaining the plan’s three commitments and core values.

On Ignite Learning, presenters reported increases in optional, out‑of‑work‑day professional learning hours for GTA‑unit staff and described school‑level PLCs and data‑dive release days. The cabinet reported that integration of K–5 students with disabilities into general education settings was slightly below last year’s mid‑year baseline, covering roughly 200 kindergarten–fifth grade students tracked in that metric; staff said the dip likely reflects re‑establishing annual baselines and RTI (response‑to‑intervention) cycles rather than a policy change.

The district gave context on winter I‑Ready results: early‑year lower percentages reflect students moving into new grades and, in some cases, first‑time winter administrations for kindergarten and newly included 6–8 students. The presenters noted median “typical growth” metrics derived from I‑Ready that are individualized for students and used to target interventions. One presenter described the I‑Ready adaptive test as “computer adaptive… it's like trying to find that right shoe size,” to show how the diagnostic adjusts to student responses.

On Cultivate Trust, the district reported perception survey response rates of more than 1,000 staff, 5,000 students and nearly 2,000 parents and said those results are integrated into school improvement plans. The cabinet described work on shared decision‑making charters, parent recruitment for committees, and restorative practices, emphasizing that restorative practices are paired with, not a substitute for, conventional disciplinary responses.

Commitment 3 (Expand Opportunity) updates included SEL screener positivity ratings, expansion of elementary after‑school clubs and a focus on sustaining quality LEAD/innovator partnerships rather than simply increasing partner counts. Presenters highlighted that SEL competency instruction is being aligned with district programs such as Leader in Me and career/profile initiatives.

Board members followed with detailed questions. Mr. Butler and Mr. Maloney pressed on SEL screener trends and I‑Ready mid‑year movement; Ms. Farah asked whether the pace of growth met the district’s targets and was told the plan expects multi‑year acceleration tied to curriculum rollout and extensive professional development. Vice President Farmer supported plans to integrate SEL throughout instruction rather than confining it to stand‑alone time.

The cabinet said additional data disaggregations by grade and subgroup are available to principals and that targeted building‑level interventions and intensive professional development are in progress. The cabinet also flagged two incoming state resources — a New York State numeracy brief and an anticipated state portrait of a graduate framework — that could influence local curriculum and SEL alignment.

The board did not take a formal vote on the strategic plan update. The presentation concluded with a pledge to continue data review, target supports where growth is low, and report further at year end.