JEFFERSON TWP — Knoch School District was presented with a new comprehensive plan for the 2025 through 2028 school years.

The plan was presented to the school board at its March 5 work session meeting. It will vote to approve the plan at next week’s March 12 general meeting.

Melissa Grantz, Knoch’s assistant superintendent, said the district has spent the past several months working on the comprehensive plan. She said this has included receiving feedback from parents, teachers, students and other community members; as well as looking at various data points on how the school is currently performing and what to do moving ahead.

“It’s about setting direction. It sets direction for our district for the next four years. It’s a good way to take a pulse on how we’re doing currently, where things are going, and where we think we need to move in the future,” Grantz said.

The comprehensive plan is required by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

The plan was made by six subcommittees, each with a different focus: academic achievement, budget and fiscal affairs, operational services, special education, staff services, and student services.

Goals listed under academic achievement included fostering a culture of high expectations, as well as helping equip students with career-ready skills. Ways to accomplish this included increasing collaboration with local colleges to expand college in high school course offerings, as well as creating connections through school partnerships with local businesses and “career-based projects.”

The budget and fiscal affairs portion focused on different ways to achieve long-term financial sustainability, as well as coming up with a capital improvement plan to focus on faculty needs. The comprehensive plan comes as the district’s high school renovation project nears its completion. In total, the plan costs around $39 million.

“A lot of our conversations really focused around our future planning,” said Jamie Van Lenten, the district’s business manager.

Increasing inclusive practices for students with disabilities, developing strategies for supporting students with autism and working to improve meeting unique needs of students with disabilities were discussed in the special education portion of the comprehensive plan.

The subcommittee in charge of student services included goals of increasing academic support, as well as extracurricular activities for all K-12 students, during and after the school day. It also included implementing programs to promote a healthy and supportive school environment, such as enhancing the school nutrition program and developing anti-bullying campaigns.

“Focusing on the district comprehensive plan will support administrators, teachers and parents in the collaboration process to address the unique learning needs of students throughout the district,” the presentation stated. “Goals and action steps from each of the subcommittees will guide the daily work within the classroom and more specifically at the desks of Knoch School District students.”