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Cheltenham School District outlines 2025—2028 comprehensive plan with reconfiguration, attendance and curriculum goals
Summary
District staff told the educational affairs committee the comprehensive plan (due March 31, 2025) centers on four priorities: reconfiguring grade spans to reduce transitions, raising regular attendance to 90% by June 30, 2028, boosting student engagement with disaggregated monitoring, and adopting standards-aligned high-quality instructional materials.
Cheltenham School District staff reviewed the district's 2025—2028 comprehensive plan and its four goals at the Educational Affairs Committee meeting on Jan. 21.
An Office of Education presenter told the committee the plan is due March 31, 2025, and will be posted for a 28-day public comment period before the board reviews a draft. "Our plan is actually due on 03/31/2025," the presenter said, explaining the timeline and statutory cadence for the three-year cycle required under Pennsylvania law.
Why it matters: the comprehensive plan drives continuous school improvement, ties into required state assurances (special education, induction, student services) and frames the district's priorities and annual goals for the next three years.
Key priorities presented
- Reconfigure grade spans to reduce transitions. Staff said analysis showed consistent dips in attainment at transition points and recommended K—5 elementary schools, a 6—8 middle school and a 9—12 high school, with full implementation targeted for the 2027—2028 school year.
- Improve attendance to 90% districtwide by June 30, 2028. Presenters told the committee that district attendance currently trails statewide targets and that high school period-based attendance in particular requires procedural and data-accuracy improvements. The presenter described plans to examine and refine attendance-taking practices and to use automated notifications to engage families.
- Increase student engagement and close opportunity gaps. The plan calls for developing monthly, disaggregated data protocols to monitor subgroup performance (including students with disabilities and Black and Latino students) and to inform interventions and instructional decisions.
- Adopt standards-aligned, culturally responsive instructional materials. District staff said they will redesign K—12 ELA, mathematics and STEM curricula for horizontal and vertical alignment and begin a materials adoption process. The board previously approved a contract with SchoolKit to support the adoption and to help develop rubrics for identifying high-quality instructional materials (HQIM).
Board reaction and next steps
Board members asked about accountability and reporting cadence; staff recommended annual progress reports tied to the plan's measurable year-by-year goals and noted the plan portal includes built-in progress-monitoring features. Members also discussed low-hanging improvements to ease transitions (for example, ninth-grade academy models) and how the comprehensive plan aligns with the district's strategic plan and forthcoming budget choices.
The Office of Education said it will post the plan to begin the public comment window, gather feedback, incorporate revisions and return a draft to the board for the legislative meeting in March.
