Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) unveiled a draft of its fiscal year 2026-2030 strategic plan Tuesday, providing a first glimpse into the blueprint that’s set to guide the school district for the next five years, according to a school board committee meeting.
The MCPS strategic plan guides the work of the school district and is renewed every five years. According to the strategic plan website, the fiscal year 2026-2030 strategic plan will focus on enhancing academics and operations, as well as “structural challenges, such as policies, staffing, and resource allocation.”
The three-phase development of the strategic plan began in August with a first phase that included focus groups of students, staff, community members and higher education and business partners. Phase one ended in September with a summary report of the focus group’s feedback on skills that students need upon graduation and on systemic issues facing the district.
Phase two ran from October to December and included an analysis of the root causes of the systemic issues and brainstorming sessions to address the causes. More than 180 community members came together in a November session to discuss themes raised during phase one, which included topics such as equity and inclusion challenges, student achievement and opportunity gaps and teacher support, according to the strategic plan website.
Now, at the end of its third phase, which began in January, MCPS staff presented the draft of a strategic plan framework during a meeting of the school board’s Strategic Planning Committee. According to the strategic plan website, phase three is focused on creating goals for academic excellence, well-being, family engagement and operational excellence.
Stephanie Sheron, MCPS chief of strategic initiatives, said district staff were seeking the committee’s feedback on the plan’s framework.
“The strategic plan does not cover every single daily operation that occurs in the school district,” Sheron said. “It’s to really focus on what we believe are the high leverage or high yield strategies to get us where we need to be.”
However, board members Brenda Wolff and Natalie Zimmerman, who are members of the Strategic Planning Committee, noted that several of the plan’s strategies are already in place or have been included in previous strategic plans.
“We’re already doing these things, and we weren’t seeing any success,” Wolff said. “What we’re going to have to stress is what’s going to be different.”
The difference will be seen in how the strategic plan looks in action, and the accountability measures that will be put in place, Sheron said.
“What’s important to me when you read this plan is it’s not necessarily linear,” Sheron said. “It’s not like this priority area of transforming our structures comes first, then the second priority. It’s actually all intertwined. So you almost have to look at it holistically to understand how all of them work together in order to improve the achievement of our students.”
Sheron said once the plan is adopted, it will be up to MCPS staff to determine how it will be implemented.
Unleashing student potential
According to the draft presented at the meeting, the vision for the 2026-2030 strategic plan is to “unleash potential” and that all students will graduate with the “knowledge, skills, and experiences necessary to thrive in an ever-changing world.”
To accomplish this, MCPS aims to remove barriers and expand opportunities for students, strengthen family and community engagement, support educators, develop strong leadership and strengthen central services, according to the draft plan.
The draft includes the following goals that, if achieved, will determine the district’s success:
At least 90% of MCPS schools earn four stars or higher on the Maryland State Report Card;
The reduction of academic proficiency disparities by at least 50% on the Maryland School Report Card for students receiving free and reduced meals services, multilingual learners, special education students, Hispanic/Latino students, and Black/African American students;
An annual graduation rate of 95% in all demographic categories, with students equipped with the knowledge, skills and experiences needed to thrive in an ever-changing world.
The draft is divided into priority areas, each with defined goals and strategies. The first priority area is to “transform structures for equity and student success.” According to the draft, the key finding behind the priority area was that “traditional school structures and practices were stated as often failing to meet the diverse needs of all students.”
Goals include ensuring that 90% of students are engaged in at least one advanced college and career readiness program. Strategies include increasing enrichment activities and enhancing student support structures. Other priority areas include improving communication and family engagement, supporting educators, supporting school-based leaders and strengthening central office staff to support.
The board’s committee provided recommendations for revisions on the draft, and moving forward, Sheron said the strategic plan staff would begin implementing the revisions. Staff will also send the draft to community members that were involved throughout the plan’s three phases of development for feedback.
The next Strategic Planning Committee meeting is scheduled for May 13. At that time, the committee will provide final feedback before the plan goes to the full board for approval in June.
