Haverford Township school staff present draft three-year comprehensive plan, target elementary growth and achievement gap

Haverford Township School District staff presented a draft comprehensive plan required by the Pennsylvania Department of Education and asked the school board for feedback, emphasizing priorities to improve inconsistent elementary-level academic growth and reduce the achievement gap for economically disadvantaged students.

The plan, presented by Miss Seixa, identifies the district as a high-performing system that ranks in the top 5% of local education agencies in the Commonwealth on PSSA and Keystone assessments, while noting localized challenges in subgroup achievement and inconsistent growth patterns at the elementary grades.

The draft sets measurable three-year goals. One goal seeks to have 80% of students in identified schools and grades meet or exceed reading and math growth expectations on the district's 2028 growth assessments. Another aims to shrink the achievement gap between all students and the economically disadvantaged subgroup from 15% to 8% in ELA, from 20% to 12% in math, and from 18% to 10% in the Algebra I Keystone by the end of the three-year cycle.

Why it matters: the comprehensive plan is the district's required roadmap for continuous improvement, linking needs assessment, measurable goals and action plans. It governs curriculum implementation, progress monitoring and districtwide priorities that affect instruction and student supports.

Key findings and priorities

- Strengths: The plan states that all seven district schools meet college- and career-readiness measures and that five of seven schools meet or exceed the state growth standard in all subjects. Districtwide national measures (AP, SAT, ACT, PSAT) show high levels of student success.

- Challenges: The presenting staff flagged a persistent achievement gap for the economically disadvantaged subgroup (about several hundred students) that is roughly 15 percentage points in math and 20 points in ELA compared with the all-student subgroup. Staff also reported inconsistent growth at elementary grade levels across schools.

Action steps and supports proposed

Staff outlined action steps tied to each priority: refine and more consistently implement core curriculum and Tier 1 instruction; strengthen MTSS/WIN intervention and enrichment structures; expand progress monitoring and targeted instruction; research and adopt executive-functioning supports; and develop parent/guardian engagement and mentor programs prioritized for the economically disadvantaged subgroup.

Miss Seixa said the district will "provide progress updates on the action steps and on our progress toward those goals to the board via our committee meetings and in presentations like this throughout the life of the plan." She also noted the draft is posted on BoardDocs and will be posted on the district website for public comment before a revised plan returns to the board.

Public comment and board questions

A resident who spoke during public comment praised the focus on executive functioning and consistency in instruction, saying, "I love the focus... bringing back the focus on executive functioning. I think that is so important." Board members asked how the district would monitor interim progress, and staff said progress monitoring and committee reports will show year-to-year movement toward the three-year targets.

Timeline and next steps

Staff said the draft is posted for review, will accept public feedback via a website form and at public meetings, and will return as a revised draft to the committee in March and then to the board during a business meeting. The presenting staff stated the district's comprehensive plan must be submitted to the Pennsylvania Department of Education by March 31.

Resources and constraints

Staff told the board the plan will require time and staff effort, plus coaching and professional development to strengthen Tier 1 instruction and support interventions; they said the district will first use existing staff capacity and internal coaches where possible and will request additional resources only if a specific program requires districtwide adoption.

No formal vote or board action on the plan occurred at this meeting; staff will return with a revised draft for the board to consider before the state deadline.