Great Valley School District officials presented a draft three-year comprehensive plan at the board’s January meeting, outlining continued work on four priority areas and a timeline that calls for a public review in February and board approval in March.

The district’s comprehensive planning lead, Dr. O’Toole, told the board the draft carries forward four priorities from the prior plan — safe and inclusive spaces, teaching and learning, instructional technology and college and career readiness — and highlighted changes the administration plans to make over the next three years. He said the district is aligning curriculum and professional development with newly adopted STEELS science standards ("Science, Technology, Engineering, Environmental Literacy and Sustainability") and plans to reconstitute an assessment and grading committee that paused during the pandemic.

The plan matters because the district must submit a Future Ready comprehensive plan to the Pennsylvania Department of Education and because the priorities the board approves will shape staff training, curriculum work and budgeting over the next three years. Dr. O’Toole said the district will present a draft for public review at the work session on Feb. 10, make the plan available for at least 35 days, and seek board approval on March 17 so the submission can go to the state by March 30.

Key details presented to the board included:
- STEELS standards: Dr. O’Toole explained the acronym and said the state’s shift requires curriculum and instructional changes; district staff will attend national conferences and plan multi-year professional development to support teachers.
- Grading and assessment: Administrators said they intend to re-start a previously planned committee to review what assignments are evaluated, the purpose of grades, and how grades are reported. The discussion includes the role of final exams, marking-period weightings and whether the student information system constrains grading practice.
- Student information system (SIS): The district identified the SIS as a districtwide priority because it underpins attendance, food service, scheduling and grade reporting. Officials said Skyward is the current system and PowerSchool is a commonly used alternative; the district will solicit stakeholder input, investigate options this year, recommend a choice to the board by the end of the year and plan a full implementation in fall 2026 if a change is approved.
- Digital citizenship and instructional technology: The plan emphasizes embedding media literacy and safe-technology practices across subjects and grades rather than a one-time lesson. The district’s instructional-technology supervisor and librarians will support integration of AI-use guidance and source evaluation into daily lessons.
- Personal finance requirement: The plan notes a state-required personal finance course must be implemented for the 2026–27 school year; the district said curriculum and graduation-requirement discussions related to that course will start during the comprehensive-plan cycle.

Board members asked for clarity about staffing and how the district will resource ambitious goals. Dr. O’Toole and Dr. Gofredo said the state’s Future Ready portal does not require a staffing plan for the submission but that annual goals and future budget work will articulate staffing needs; the administration agreed to add staffing considerations into the district’s internal planning documents.

The administration said it will circulate the draft for public review on Feb. 10, allow at least 35 days for comment (exceeding the law’s minimum 28-day review), and return the plan for board approval at the March business meeting before submitting it to the Pennsylvania Department of Education.