2025-2030

Strategic Plan

Letter from the Superintendent

Over the past several years, Fresno Unified has deepened its commitment to Student Outcomes Focused Governance, creating greater alignment and accountability around student achievement. This Strategic Plan represents the next chapter of that work and serves as a shared roadmap for how we will continue building a stronger future for our students, families, staff, and community.

Developed through a collaborative and community-informed process, this plan reflects the voices of staff, students, families, and community partners who care deeply about the future of Fresno Unified. Together, we identified the Goals and Guardrails necessary to ensure every student graduates prepared to thrive in college, career, and life.

This plan is grounded in our mission to provide an excellent, equitable education in a culturally proficient environment and is guided by the foundational frameworks that define who we aspire to be as a district, including our Theory of Action, Portrait of a Learner, and Portrait of a Leader.

While student outcomes remain at the center of this work, achieving those outcomes requires excellence across every part of our organization. Fresno Unified will advance this plan through four interconnected pillars: Academic Excellence, Engagement Excellence, People Excellence and Operational Excellence. These pillars reflect our commitment to creating the conditions that allow students and adults to thrive while ensuring responsible stewardship of the resources entrusted to us.

Our strategic priorities focus on four student outcome goals: Early Literacy, Literacy Intervention, College and Career Readiness, and Life Skills. These goals are intentionally supported by guardrails centered on Community Engagement, Equitable Access, Effective Staff, and Health and Wellness because student success requires both strong academic systems and the conditions that allow students and adults to thrive.

This Strategic Plan challenges us to work together with urgency and purpose while remaining grounded in the needs, strengths, and aspirations of the communities we serve.

The future of Fresno Unified will not be shaped by one person or one department alone. It will be shaped by all of us working together in partnership on behalf of our students. We are proud of the work that brought us to this moment, and we are even more hopeful about where we are headed next.

With Deep Gratitude,

Misty Her
Superintendent

How the Plan Comes Together

The Strategic Plan is focused on building the district's long-term vision and laying out the foundation for implementation. In the four years that follow, an Annual Plan will then translate that vision into the priorities, initiatives, and measurable actions that guide our work for the year. This will follow with an Annual Report at the end of each year to report accomplishments from the plan. Divisions and school sites will each curate plans to further operationalize these priorities by outlining the specific actions each division and school will take to advance our shared goals.

Theory of Action

A theory of action connects strategies, behaviors, and systems to student outcomes. It is written as an if-then statement and serves as a guide for decision-making, resource allocation, and accountability.

Co-designed by the Board of Trustees and district staff based on community input from listening sessions, this theory of action is a set of concise non-negotiable, high level “if-then” strategies. These strategies align all system inputs and outputs to ensure our work happens in a unified way towards accomplishing our goals while honoring community values.

If District Leaders

Develop and maintain a coherent, accessible, and updated data system
Provide high-quality professional learning, coaching, and mentoring for school leaders
Supply culturally responsive, standards-aligned curriculum, tools, and resources
Establish structures that support collaborative adult learning
Communicate a clear, publicly shared district vision for high-quality teaching and learning
Recruit and retain high-quality staff who embody the district's mission and vision
Align resources strategically to advance system goals and improve student outcomes
Identify and remove systemic barriers while expanding targeted support for historically underserved students
Partner with schools to promote the well-being of both staff and students
Engage families and community members as authentic collaborators in the work

If School Leaders

Build a schoolwide culture rooted in evidence-based decision making, ongoing progress monitoring, and continuous improvement
Observe classrooms regularly and provide actionable feedback that strengthens instructional quality
Clearly communicate how schoolwide practices support improved student outcomes
Foster a professional learning culture that elevates instructional practice for all staff
Cultivate collective efficacy so teams believe in and work toward their shared ability to influence student achievement
Build and sustain an inclusive, positive school culture where every voice is valued and where staff receive clear direction

If Every Educator

Designs and delivers culturally responsive, grade-level aligned instruction that provides multiple pathways for students to learn
Uses formative assessment practices to check for understanding and adjusts instruction in real time
Collaborates in professional learning communities to share strategies, refine practice, and improve outcomes
Communicates proactively with families to inform instruction, strengthen engagement, and build inclusive, respectful, and safe classroom communities
Creates classroom environments that are positive and supportive

If Every Parent/Guardian

Then Every Student

Portrait of a Leader

Equity-centered leaders equip students with future-ready skills

Student-Centered Decision Making
Advancing Equity & Achievement
Fostering Community Trust
Building a Shared Vision
Facilitate Meaningful Instruction
Nurturing Diversity

Portrait of a Learner

Critical Thinking

Adaptability

Communication

Empathy

Digital Literacy

Collaboration

Learn More About Portrait of a Learner

Strategic Planning Process

Student outcomes don’t change until adult behaviors change.

FALL 2024

Community Listening Sessions

Trustees co-facilitated over 30 community listening sessions across the district, focused on collecting feedback regarding the desired outcomes for Fresno Unified students in the Fresno Unified community. Participants included parents, caregivers, staff, students, business owners and community members.

Spring 2025

Board Adopted Goals and Guardrails

Utilizing the community feedback, A public workshop provided an opportunity for trustees to collaboratively develop four goals and four guardrails. This was followed by the development of interim goals and guardrails.

FALL 2025

Local Control and Accountabilty Plan (LCAP)

As part of the district’s Local Control and Accountability Plan, additional parent, student and staff feedback was collected.

FALL 2025-SPRING 2026

Teacher Listening Sessions

Superintendent Her and her Executive Cabinet completed a 10-month listening tour, providing an opportunity for teachers across the district to share their ideas about what was working well in the district and improvements needed.

WINTER 2026

Initiative and Strategy Development Begins

Department and site staff began the work to identify priority initiatives to support the successful implementation of the goals and guardrails.

SPRING 2026

Teacher Listening Sessions

Certificated, classified and management staff partnered with community members to finalize strategies and develop the framework for a five-year strategic plan.