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Wallingford-Swarthmore committee reviews draft comprehensive plan to meet Pennsylvania requirements
Summary
District staff presented key strengths and challenges from a multi-year needs assessment and outlined four goals in the draft comprehensive plan required by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, including narrowing achievement gaps and building standards-aligned curriculum.
District staff presented highlights of the draft comprehensive plan required by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, summarizing strengths, identified challenges, and four measurable goals to guide the district from 2025 through 2028.
Staff said the comprehensive plan is distinct from, but aligned with, the district’s strategic plan and is organized into three phases: ready (planning), set (needs assessment), and go (plan development). The plan’s stated purposes include improving student outcomes, establishing accountability processes, aligning resources and promoting stakeholder engagement.
Presenters listed strengths such as above-average ELA, math and science results in some student groups and a high graduation rate at the high school; they also identified challenges including persistent achievement gaps for Black and Brown students, economically disadvantaged students and students with disabilities, and lower reporting/completion rates for career-education benchmarks at the high-school level.
The draft sets four goal areas: (1) reduce achievement gaps for underperforming subgroups, (2) create a coherent system for standards-aligned benchmark reporting and monitoring, (3) codify a standards-aligned, inquiry-based curriculum across grade levels, and (4) establish systems for continuous improvement of instruction (data teams, PLCs, progress monitoring). Staff described measurable objectives, such as an initial three-year target reduction in subgroup achievement gaps and increased use of common assessments and data dashboards.
Presenters described existing and planned supports including professional learning for curriculum design and assessment practice, a district data warehouse (Blinken) to synthesize multiple data sources, and plans to roll out dashboards to teachers in the following school year. Staff said the comprehensive plan will be publicly posted and updated annually.
Committee members asked about alignment with the longer-term strategic plan, timeline for annual updates, and whether failure to meet targets carries penalties. Staff said the plan is required by the state and that annual progress updates will be provided; missing targets does not create a direct statutory penalty but affects state reporting and school-performance indicators.
