Strategic plan guided 2020-21 budget development

The 2019-20 school year was the first year of the Fayetteville-Manlius School District’s new three-year strategic plan.

Feedback that students, parents, board of education members, administrators, faculty and staff members shared through a series of surveys and focus groups helped shape the final plan, which the district unveiled in fall 2019.

Some goals within the plan are targeted for completion within the first year while others will take longer to fully implement and, therefore, stretch into years two and three. At the end of each school year, administrators will evaluate the goals, and those achieved will be removed so new goals can be added.

Priority areas

The plan identifies four enduring priority areas: teaching and learning, positive school environment, service learning and community partnerships and fiscal capacity and responsibility. Each school has its own individual action plan that follows the framework of the district strategic plan.

“Our strategic plan is a living document and will grow and expand as we seek to continually improve our students’ and staff members’ experiences,” Superintendent Craig J. Tice said. “As we developed the 2020-21 budget proposal, we relied on the strategic plan to align our budgetary decisions with our institutional priorities and goals.”

Per the plan, many teachers shifted to inquiry-based learning opportunities with the goal of better engaging students, and that will continue in 2020-21.

The district, and specifically Mott Road Elementary School, was recently recognized nationally for implementing such techniques.

“While it’s an honor to be recognized on the national stage, more important is the feedback from our teachers who are reporting anecdotally that their students are more engaged and excited —and the data that backs that up,” Tice said.

Over the past three years, Mott Road’s English language arts, math and science scores on the New York state assessments have increased as personalization is meeting the needs of more students.

The district plans to publish an annual report in the fall that will highlight its progress on 2019-20 goals.