Every five years, the Montgomery County Board of Education (BOE) re-examines the district’s strategic plan to guide the work of Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS). The current MCPS strategic plan is in its fourth and final year, which means the district is working to develop a Strategic Plan for Fiscal Year 2026-2030.
Our Approach to Developing the Strategic Plan
Many strategic plans focus on enhancing academics and operations. The MCPS FY 2026-2030 strategic plan will also address structural challenges, such as policies, staffing, and resource allocation.
While MCPS has celebrated many successes, quantitative and qualitative data suggest there is room for growth, as some students graduate without the full range of skills needed for life after high school. This is partly because many support structures were created at a time when students needed different skills, and the population was less diverse. As a result, the new strategic plan will take a fresh look at how the MCPS system is organized and establish clear goals, targets, and strategies for academics and operations.
"Strategic plans ensure that schools and central services evolve with changing needs and challenges. They provide a roadmap for sustainable growth, empowering educators to deliver high-quality teaching and learning experiences that prepare students for success in an increasingly complex world."
Five Phases:
The FY 2026-2030 Strategic Plan will be developed through five phases and finalized by July 2025. All phases will be implemented with community input and feedback.
Engage the community to identify skills needed at graduation and systemic issues that must be overcome.
The Strategic Plan's planning began in August 2024, with focus groups that included students, staff, community, higher education, and business partners. The MCPS Department of Shared Accountability compiled the feedback in the Phase 1 Report.
Conduct a root cause analysis on Phase 1 themes.
On November 11, 2024, over 180 students, parents, caregivers, community partners, and school-based and central office staff came together for a full-day work session to address the key issues and themes outlined in the Phase 1 Report. The participants met in seven facilitated work groups.
Develop draft strategies and goals to address the systemic barriers.
Create goals for academic excellence, well-being, family engagement, and professional and operational excellence in alignment with state mandates and district priorities.
MCPS will use culturally responsive engagement strategies to get feedback from the MCPS community.
Finalize the strategic plan.
All offices & schools develop action plans that align with the strategic plan.
The following core principles will guide the engagement and development process:
- All decisions must be made in the best interest of students.
- All great decisions begin with listening, empathy, relationships, and research.
- All children in our community deserve access to remarkable learning experiences characterized by equity, engagement and support—Every Student, Every Day!
- All members of our community are valuable; community voices should be heard.
- All actions must be the model of collaboration and transparency.
- All things begin and end with the culture that leadership creates.
To realize equity, we are committed to:
- Open and transparent communication with all stakeholders.
- Harnessing data to steer our decisions.
- Cultivating culturally responsive and antiracist leaders.
- Developing policies and practices that dismantle barriers to equity.
- Sincerely engaging with students and families (especially those from historically underserved communities.)
- Embracing culturally responsive and antiracist practices that hold steadfast to our expectations for every student to excel at the highest levels possible.