A New Way Forward

With gratitude to the more than 20,000 students, employees, families, and community members who lent their voices to this collaborative effort, Fayette County Public Schools embarked on A New Way Forward after the adoption of a new strategic plan in May 2022. Built upon our commitment to nurturing the development and well-being of the whole child, this five-year strategic plan articulates the path to a future where every student is actively engaged in challenging instruction tailored to their strengths, interests, and needs.

We are committed to creating a future where a child’s ZIP code, native language, culture, race, exceptionality, or background does not define their trajectory. It's a future where all children are exposed to the endless possibilities that await them after high school, encouraged to discover a pathway to making their dreams a reality, and empowered with the learning, experiences, and support they need to achieve their unlimited potential.

Our Vision reflects where we want to go as an organization.

Our Mission clarifies how we will make that vision a reality.

Our Process

Our 16-month strategic planning process began in February 2021 with listening sessions, individual and small group interviews, focus groups, and multilingual surveys, during which thousands of participants from diverse perspectives provided feedback on the district’s main challenges, opportunities, and strengths, and articulated hopes for the future. Work continued with an independent review of the district, which included an examination of data, systems, and structures, as well as a series of listening sessions and interviews.

With the help of an external consultant and community facilitator, the district established three groups to review and synthesize the input received and drive the work forward. An advisory group of 30 community leaders; a working group of 39 employees, families, and community partners; and a student group of 22 representatives from every high school and special program in the district — 91 individuals total — worked for two months to develop priorities, recommend action steps, and identify success factors.

From there, principals and district leaders worked to refine the plan, consult data, research best practices, and build out strategies. Born of 132 community meetings, 90 input sessions, and 17,071 survey responses, the 2022-27 strategic plan aptly titled “A New Way Forward” was formally adopted by the school board in May 2022.

Our Promise

Based on the experiences our families told us they want for their children, the FCPS Portrait of a Graduate is our promise that each of our neighborhood schools and magnet, gifted and talented, and special programs provides an education designed to help students become a lifelong learner, civically engaged and culturally responsive, future and life ready, and reflective and resilient.

Our strategic plan centers on the recognition that the development of these attributes begins by collaborating with families during their child’s formative years preceding their school enrollment, and continues to build in preschool through elementary, middle, and high school.

Our Priorities

graphic with education icons and an elementary student, to promote the FCPS rebranding

Proficient Reading:

Distinguished Reading:

Proficient Math:

Distinguished Math:

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