Kyrene School District is approaching the midpoint of our five-year strategic plan, but we are already more than halfway to achieving two of our four key goals and making progress on all four. Year two of the Kyrene Strategic Plan 2023-2028: Thrive! Ready for the Future delivered measurable results our entire community can celebrate.

The strategic plan is organized around four specific, measurable goals that we aim to achieve by 2028:

Early Literacy: 85% of students in grades K-3 will meet end-of-year reading benchmarks by 2028.

We had aimed to reach 85% for kindergarteners by the end of the 2024-25 school year, and we got close. 81% of Kindergarten students hit benchmark goals. That’s up from 74% before the implementation of our strategic plan initiatives. This is the direct result of Kyrene’s early literacy efforts, which include funding for additional teachers to reduce class sizes in grades K-2, as well as additional literacy training for all Kyrene teachers. We expanded that training last year and have set a goal that all teachers will complete the training within two years of their hire date.

Kyrene would love to shatter this goal by 2028, but the 85% target is grounded in research, which shows we can always expect about 15% of a student population to need reading intervention for various reasons. We targeted early grade levels because third grade is the age at which children transition from learning to read to reading to learn.

Academic Progress: 70% of students passing, growing, and on-track in state assessments.

62% of Kyrene students were passing, growing or on track in spring 2025 state assessments. That’s a five percent increase over last year and a giant leap forward toward our 70% goal. This upward trend is especially meaningful because academic performance is often considered a lagging indicator—the last area to reflect improvement. Ultimately, our academic progress score will be the culmination of foundational efforts like early literacy and social-emotional learning.

Sense of Belonging: 10% increase in middle school students reporting sense of belonging on the annual Panorama survey.

Before the start of the strategic plan, only 39% of Kyrene middle school students responded favorably to questions regarding sense of belonging on our annual survey. Two years into the strategic plan, that number is up to 47%. Almost all of that growth happened in year two, with the implementation of Character Strong, a middle school curriculum that promotes belonging, well-being, and engagement among students. The curriculum helps students grow their skills in the areas of self-awareness, self-management, relationships, social awareness, and responsible decision-making. These are traits that contribute to academic success and help ensure Kyrene students will thrive in high school, college, career and life.

Equity: Proportionate student representation in advanced coursework, gifted identification, and discipline.

Equity is an ongoing commitment in Kyrene, and we will never consider this work “finished,” because true equity means continuously ensuring every student—regardless of background—has access to the opportunities and support they need to succeed. But while this work will always be “in progress,” Kyrene has identified a specific way to measure that progress in our district. We focus on four key areas: advanced coursework, gifted services, referrals and suspensions. In each area, we examine data to make sure students are proportionately represented, meaning the data in each focus area should closely reflect the overall demographics of our student body.

We analyze nine student groupings—such as students of different races and ethnicities, students with disabilities, and those learning English—and track how they are represented in each of the four areas. If a student group makes up 20% of our district, we want to see that same 20% reflected in gifted identification or advanced classes. By the end of year two, 73% of those groupings are either already proportionate or showing improvement. That is a 15% jump from the baseline set in year one.

Strategic Investment

In year two (2024-25) of the strategic plan, Kyrene continued to invest in smaller K-2 class sizes at the sustained cost of $1.4M to fund additional teaching positions. Smaller class sizes support the strategic plan’s Early Literacy goal, and this remains the largest single strategic plan investment. Other investments within the Future Ready Schools imperative this year included continued literacy training for teachers. Year two also saw strategic investment under the Highly Engaged People & Culture and Optimal Operations & Resources imperatives. These included the implementation of innovative staffing models and the completion of two studies: one evaluating compensation and the other reviewing special education in Kyrene.

Future Focus

In every year of the strategic plan, Kyrene will continue to advance initiatives that drive literacy rates, academic performance, and sense of belonging. That work remains at the heart of our plan. However, a large focus in year three will be the Long-Range Facilities Plan initiative. This work began in year two, with the formation of the Long-Range Planning Committee. One of the committee’s goals is to develop a recommendation to the Kyrene Governing Board for a long-range plan that addresses projected enrollment trends and maximizes the use of schools and facilities. We anticipate the recommendation will come in the first quarter of the new year. Depending on the committee’s recommendation and any resulting action by the Governing Board, Kyrene could spend much of the coming year reshaping the district for our future Kyrene kids.

Whatever the future brings, Kyrene will keep students at the heart of our work, and the strategic plan will continue to be our guide as we make further leaps toward our goals and ensure Kyrene kids are ready for the future in high school, college, career and beyond.