Centennial School District ties goals to Future Ready Index, credits multi‑year investments and ESSER funds for gains

Centennial School District officials told the House Education Committee that they used the PA Future Ready Index as a planning tool and backed goals with multi‑year investments in staff, coaching and curriculum.

Centennial superintendent Dana Bedden said the district tied board goals to the Future Ready Index in 2020 and then aligned staffing and professional development to those targets. “We tied our goals … to the future ready index, specifically, to make that a focus,” Bedden said. Bedden told the committee the district used an influx of federal ESSER funds to accelerate work and hired instructional coaches and specialists; he said Centennial had about $7,000,000 in ESSER funds and planned to use roughly 92 percent of that money for teaching and learning activities.

Why it matters: District leaders argued that a multi‑year, people‑centered approach — hiring coaches, investing in long‑term professional development and stabilizing instructional teams — is necessary to produce durable gains, especially after pandemic disruptions.

Strategies and examples - Goal setting tied to the index: Leaders made public commitments that every student would meet or exceed statewide averages and growth expectations in the Future Ready Index; school boards endorsed those targets and tracked progress publicly. - Staffing and professional learning: Assistant Superintendent Anthony Gabriel and Dr. Bedden emphasized long‑term, job‑embedded professional learning and added math and reading specialists, instructional coaches and coordinators. Gabriel said the district prioritized “growth before achievement” to monitor student progress. - Use of federal relief dollars: Bedden said ESSER funds allowed Centennial to hire staff and strengthen curriculum and supports. Gabriel said staffing changes and multi‑year investment are now showing results after four years of sustained work: “We started this work in 2020, and we're starting to see outcomes 4 years later.”

Challenges noted - Changing student needs: Leaders described a rising share of students with IEPs and English Learners, noting special education enrollment grew from roughly 18 percent to about 21–22 percent during Bedden’s tenure; that demographic shift affects achievement measures and program costs. - Time horizon for results: District officials and union leaders cautioned legislators that curriculum work, structured‑literacy adoption and large professional development initiatives take multiple years to reach full effect and must be sustained.

Voices from statewide leadership Dr. Sherry Smith, executive director of the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators, told the committee statewide leaders see the Future Ready Index as “excellent” while noting federal constraints on assessment design; she said districts want flexibility to measure competency and personalize learning while still meeting federal reporting requirements.

What district leaders ask from policymakers Centennial officials asked legislators to sustain multi‑year investments that allow districts to staff instructional teams and continue job‑embedded professional learning. They also asked for flexibility in aligning local assessments and curricula with state standards so local leaders can measure growth more meaningfully.

Ending Centennial’s leaders said the combination of targeted staffing, a clear set of public goals linked to the Future Ready Index and sustained professional development produced measurable improvements in growth and graduation. They urged continued multi‑year support rather than one‑year policy changes.