Seattle Public Schools Strategic Planning Process: 2025–2030

Strategic Plan Objective

Building Our Future, Together

Seattle Public Schools is creating a new strategic plan that will guide our work through 2030. This plan will help us focus on what matters most: student success, equity, and strong educational opportunities.

We’re doing this work with the community. Families, students, educators, and community members are helping us shape the direction of the district. Together, we’re imagining what’s possible—and building a path to get there.

What Is a Strategic Plan?

A strategic plan is a roadmap for the future of our school district. It helps us:

Determine how we will achieve the goals for our district
Decide where to focus our time, energy, and resources
Make sure every school and department is working toward the same outcomes
Keep our work aligned with the values of the Seattle community

2019-24
Seattle Excellence Strategic Plan

Student Outcomes-Focused Governance

2024-25
Year 0 Stabilization

Strategic Plan Development

We are here

2025-30

New Strategic Plan:

Launch, Implementation, Evaluation, and Refinement

Why This Matters Now

We’re creating this plan at a time of leadership transition. Seattle Public Schools will welcome a new superintendent in the near future. That means this plan is doing two things at once:

2025-26 school year: We’re identifying key actions that students and families will experience starting next school year. These are the programs, supports, and priorities that are already underway or ready to launch.
Long-Term Priorities: At the same time, we’re laying the groundwork for big decisions that will shape the future of our schools—such as how we invest our resources and how we support every student to succeed. These priorities will help guide the next superintendent and district leaders for years to come.

Stay Connected

This is your plan too. Here’s how you can stay involved

Apply to the Stakeholder Advisory Task Force

We’ll keep this page updated with opportunities to engage.

Planning Timeline

We’re taking this work step-by -tep, with clear phases and milestones:

Phase 1: Listening and Learning (Fall 2024 – Spring 2025)

Worked with experts to better understand how we use resources across the district
Finalized the goals and community guardrails
Reviewed data on student needs and school experiences
Held listening sessions with principals and school leaders
Created interim goals and guardrails to make sure we are on track to meet our goals

Phase 2: Strategy Design and Community Engagement (Spring – Fall 2025)

Finalize clear, multi-year priorities
Develop specific strategies for classrooms, schools, and central office
Hold community meetings and focus groups to get input

Phase 3: Implementation and Progress Monitoring (2025–2030)

Based on results, adjust strategies as needed
Refine strategies and implementation plans
Launch the plan across the district
Track our progress toward goals

Ways to Get Involved

We want to hear from you—and we’re making it easy to participate. Over the next few months, we’ll be connecting with the community through a four-part engagement series.

Stakeholder Advisory Task Force
A group of students, families, educators, and community members will work closely with district leaders to help shape the plan.
Apply to join the task force

Districtwide Family Survey – Coming Soon
This survey will go to all families across SPS to hear your input about what’s working—and where we can do better.

Community Meetings (Virtual + In-Person)
Join a meeting to learn more about our goals and share your ideas for supporting student success. Dates coming soon.

Targeted Focus Groups
We’ll hold small group conversations with students, staff, and families who have been underrepresented in past engagement—such as multilingual families and historically underserved groups.

How We’re Staying Accountable

Our governance model helps us stay centered on student success and community values:

The School Board sets clear goals for student learning and creates “guardrails” to protect those values.
The Superintendent and staff develop strategies to meet those goals.
We track our progress and stay transparent about results.