Northwestern Lehigh outlines three-year "Future Ready" plan under PA Act 47

The Northwestern Lehigh School District presented its three-year "Future Ready" comprehensive plan Wednesday, a PDE-required continuous-improvement submission anchored to PA Act 47 of 2025 that emphasizes structured literacy, student engagement and aligned professional learning.

Superintendent (presenting) told the board the district used the Pennsylvania Department of Education's climate survey and other local data to identify three priorities. "We distributed the survey to students, staff, and parents, and received over 1,500 responses," the superintendent said, noting the district's "strong foundation" and graduation rates "near and above 98 percent." The superintendent said those results, combined with multi-year trend analysis, shaped the plan's focus areas.

Mrs. Keyes, speaking for the elementary schools, described the first priority: full implementation of structured literacy in line with PA Act 47. Keyes said the district will adopt an evidence-based reading curriculum, continue universal screening three times per year, and require educator training to reduce variability in grade-3 reading outcomes. "This initiative is grounded in the science of reading," Keyes said, and staff will monitor fidelity of the universal screener and required training over a phased three-year rollout.

The second priority centers on student engagement and academic perseverance. Mrs. Jadish said survey results showed students reporting boredom in class and described plans to gather student voice through focus groups and to develop district systems that support more engaging instruction and higher-order thinking.

The third priority focuses on professional learning. Lisa Vitzel said the district will inventory current professional development, define what high-quality PD looks like for Northwestern Lehigh, differentiate PD by staff role, and then monitor whether PD is reflected in classroom practice through targeted walkthroughs and other measures.

Board members asked whether some changes could be accelerated while the broader three-year plan proceeds. One member urged a "fast lane" for low-cost, high-impact initiatives, saying, "If kids are bored today, let's not wait three years to implement good ideas." The superintendent responded that while the plan must be submitted in the three-year format required by PDE, the district can and will implement clear improvements sooner when appropriate.

Next steps: the board agreed to post the plan on the district website for a 28-day public review period, then return the plan to the board in March for approval and submit the final plan to PDE by the March 31 deadline.