Central York SD presents 2025–28 comprehensive plan, highlights algebra, special‑education priorities

Central York School District officials presented a draft three‑year comprehensive plan for 2025–2028 and a local strategic plan, citing student assessment trends and a steering‑committee review of academic and community survey data. The board was asked to review the 60‑page comprehensive plan during a 30‑day public posting before the district returns to the board for action on January 6, 2025.

The comprehensive plan is the state‑required document that organizes district priorities for continuous improvement, staff said. "The comprehensive plan, it really is a requirement of the Pennsylvania Department of Education," a district presenter told the board while reviewing the plan's purpose and timeline. The presentation emphasized that the plan is academically driven and will center on measurable goals, root‑cause analysis of data trends, and monitoring across the three‑year window.

Why it matters: the plan sets the district's measurable academic priorities and frames where staff will assign time, training and resources. Staff said the plan will guide interventions in reading and math, professional development, and consistency of programming across buildings.

Key points from the presentation

- Scope and process: The steering committee included teachers, support staff, board members, community members and administrators who reviewed academic data and community survey feedback. The draft document attached to board materials runs roughly 60 pages and will be posted on the district website for 30 days before the board considers adoption in January.

- Assessment trends cited: Presenters reported positive multi‑year growth trends in math scores for grades 3–7 following adoption of a new math resource and professional development, saying the district is "significantly closing gaps in student learning across our grades 3 to 12." PSSA ELA performance in grades 3–8 was described as consistently above the state average, though staff stressed that results remain short of internal targets.

- Algebra and high school concerns: District staff singled out Algebra I as a priority. They reported districtwide Algebra I keystone results near 57 percent but far lower proficiency among students tested at the high‑school level (reported at about 27 percent proficient or advanced). Staff said those results are driving a review of instructional models, high‑school math programming and support for students taking high‑school Algebra I.

- Science and grade‑8 anomaly: The presenter described grade‑8 science results as an outlier and noted the district recently rewrote its science curriculum; this school year will be the first full year of instruction and assessment with the new curriculum.

- Students with disabilities and state assessment policy: Presenters discussed how state rules around the Pennsylvania Alternate System of Assessment (PASA) can affect district reporting. The district said that if more than 1 percent of the district’s overall student population takes the PASA, the state will scrutinize and require review; staff reported the state put many districts on warning. Staff explained that some students previously assessed on the PASA will be asked to take the standard PSSA/Keystone next year after individualized IEP team review. The district acknowledged those reclassifications may affect reported scores.

- Intervention and fidelity of services: The plan prioritizes evaluating and standardizing interventions and schedules across buildings so that students with disabilities and students receiving intervention services receive consistent, evidence‑based instruction. Presenters cited work begun over the summer with principals and special‑education leaders to align intervention time and fidelity.

- Professional development and literacy: Staff highlighted structured‑literacy and science‑of‑reading professional development now mandated at the state level for K–6 certificated teachers and noted an ongoing expansion of secondary literacy training for staff with relevant certificates.

Next steps and public review

- The comprehensive plan will be posted on the district website for a 30‑day public review period; staff invited community questions and said the board will not vote on adoption until the January 6, 2025 meeting. The strategic plan is a locally created document that will be revisited with the board during the three‑year period and is not submitted to the state.

At the meeting a board member asked clarifying questions about how the district separates disability categories in state reporting; staff replied the Pennsylvania Future Ready Index (FRI) reports students with disabilities as a single group and that the district can disaggregate internal data by service type and IEP category for local analysis.