Fayette County leaders say 79% of strategic‑plan actions implemented as board eyes equity, attendance steps

Fayette County acting superintendent Dr. Bill Bradford told the school board on July 6 that the district has implemented 79% of the 72 total activities and actions in its New Way Forward strategic plan and will concentrate next year on the remaining 21%.

The presentation, given at the planning work session, laid out five strategic priority areas — student achievement; unity, belonging and student efficacy; a culturally responsive workforce; outreach and engagement; and organizational health and effectiveness — and described the leadership and implementation teams that have carried the work forward since 2022. “We have accomplished implementation of 79% of those total activities and actions,” Dr. Bradford said during the update.

Why it matters: The metrics frame how the district will prioritize staff time and budget decisions during the coming year and shape a local accountability pilot the board will consider at its July 20 action meeting. Board members said they want clearer measures to ensure equity across schools and grade bands.

Key details from the presentation included: - The strategic plan contains 72 activities and actions; leadership teams concentrated on 23 of those in 2025–26. - Dr. James McMillan, the district’s chief of high schools, said the student‑achievement work has embedded trauma‑informed teaching strategies into instructional frameworks, revised grading practices to emphasize demonstration of mastery and advanced preparations for a local accountability model. - Dr. Saraya Matthews, chief officer for belonging and success, said the district increased access to advanced coursework (AP, IB and dual credit) and reported a 6‑point gain in certain staff impact scores between 2021 and 2025. She also said chronic absenteeism is now a state accountability indicator under recent legislation and will be part of the district’s work to identify root causes. - Jennifer Dyer, the chief human resources officer, outlined pipelines for second‑career teachers and paraeducators, induction and onboarding programs, and leadership development and apprenticeship efforts intended to improve recruitment and retention. - Dr. Myron Thompson, the chief operations officer, reported an online repository of 48 standard operating procedures and described work to create a district planning calendar and reduce duplication across departments.

Board scrutiny and follow‑up: Board members asked how the district will allocate human, fiscal and instructional resources to address underperforming schools and teachers, and how subjective expectations in the “Portrait of a Graduate” will be translated into measurable, age‑appropriate demonstrations. Board Member Christian urged the district to probe the reasons behind absenteeism rather than assume willful absence; staff said they will deploy multi‑tiered supports and partner with families and community organizations to address root causes.

On next steps: Bradford said staff have prepared an initial local‑accountability framework that will incorporate the portrait of a graduate and other measures and will be discussed at the July 20 action meeting. He also noted the district maintains a public strategic‑plan dashboard on the district website showing status (green/yellow/red) for actions and activities.

Context: The presentation tied some items to recent state legislation that affects accountability and reporting. Staff emphasized that many initiatives are ongoing and that the next year will focus on sustaining implemented work while accelerating remaining actions.