Superintendent outlines draft 2026–27 goals for Great Valley SD, emphasizing 'portrait of a graduate' and restorative practices

At the June 8 meeting of the Great Valley School District Board of School Directors, the superintendent presented a draft package of district goals for the 2026–27 school year that centers on stakeholder engagement and operational improvements.

The superintendent told the board, “Tonight's report is dedicated solely to a draft version of our goals, district goals for the 26–27 school year,” and said the administration plans to present detailed sub‑bullets at the board's July 20 meeting before finalizing goals in August. The plan is organized around four categories: academic growth and student development; culture and well‑being; communications; and finance and operations.

The academic goals include a year‑long portrait-of-a-graduate process to define the skills, mindsets and competencies the district wants all graduates to demonstrate and to use those definitions to shape future instruction. The superintendent said the portrait work would engage staff, families and students “throughout the entire year” and help the district define locally relevant measures of success.

On grading and assessment, the superintendent proposed developing a purpose statement and guiding principles by year’s end to align the district on research‑based grading practices. “We can provide updates much how we did even with the execution of the equity plan this school year,” the superintendent said in response to requests for more frequent progress reports.

Board members pressed for specificity. Board President Rachel Gallegos asked for earlier deliverables, saying, “Can we see some meaningful progress on the grading and assessment much sooner than the end of the year? I don't want this to be death by committee.” Another board member warned that changing grading practices is “an epic lift” and urged a multi‑year timeline and care to avoid disrupting students' college preparation.

Culture and well‑being goals include administering the Pennsylvania Department of Education staff climate survey by February and expanding restorative practices, with a target of training administrators as trainers who will then train staff across the district. The superintendent framed restorative work as complementary to discipline policy, saying it is “not to supplant discipline; children are still held accountable,” but that restorative approaches help students repair relationships and build skills.

The administration also proposed expanding MTSS (Multi‑Tiered System of Support) tracking and supports to better monitor who is receiving interventions and whether those interventions are working.

On communications, the administration previewed recent survey work to learn families' preferred channels and said it will continue to streamline platforms so families have fewer places to look for information. The superintendent and staff discussed implementing a Qualtrics‑powered search module on the district website and integrating the Infinite Campus family‑facing modules next year for payments and workflows while retaining specialized platforms (for example, continuing food service through the existing vendor).

Finance and operations goals aim to increase internal efficiency through standard operating procedures, succession planning and cross‑training, and by digitizing onboarding and evaluation paperwork with Frontline Central. The superintendent said the work will affect multiple departments and involve revisiting handbooks and internal processes.

The superintendent asked the board for feedback and said the administration will return in July with more detailed action steps and sub‑bullets for each major goal. No formal board action was required at the June 8 meeting.

Next step: the administration will bring detailed sub‑bullets and progress updates to the July 20 board meeting and finalize goals in August.