Dear Gloucester Lions Family and Friends,

I am excited to announce that our Board of Education has approved a strategic plan that will provide a blueprint for our work with our students.  

2023-2026 Gloucester City School District Strategic Plan

We have:

• Updated our school district’s vision, mission, and belief statements,

• Created focus areas to lead our school district forward throughout the 2023-24, 2024-25, and 2025-26 school years, and

• Created our school district’s unique “Portrait of a Graduate” to reflect our shared community vision of the most important traits to cultivate in our 2,100 students as they advance from preschool through 12th grade and prepare to make important contributions to our society. 

We thank school community members that participated; our plan and vision must be “owned” by and reflective of our entire community.  

The following steps have been completed:

• Steering Committee.  A “Steering Committee” of 30 members completed two full days of work on Friday, October 7, and Saturday, October 8, to analyze all feedback and utilize it to create statements and plans that are representative of our community.  These 30 members consisted of representatives of all school community stakeholders:  students, parents, teachers, support staff, administrators, Board of Education members, community leaders, and alumni. 

• Community Feedback Event.  All local residents were invited to participate in a “Community Feedback Event” on the evening of Wednesday, November 30th.  

• Board Approval.  We presented the finished products of the vision, mission, and belief statements as well as the 3-year strategic plan to our Board of Education in February of 2023 for approval and adoption.

• Portrait of a Graduate.  The process will be finalized in the spring with a full community discussion to create our Gloucester City School District “Portrait of a Graduate.”

Abraham Lincoln stated, “The best way to predict the future is to create it.”  Please join us in helping create the future of the schools that serve our great community.  I will keep you informed as we advance through this very important process.

Sincerely,