FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — Fresno Unified School District leaders say a new five-year strategic plan will serve as the roadmap for improving student outcomes, while the teachers’ union is urging district leaders to continue listening to educators as implementation moves forward.

The comprehensive plan outlines the district’s goals, priorities, strategies and accountability measures through 2030, creating what Superintendent Misty Her describes as a more focused approach to student achievement.

“We are going from a district that did so many things and we weren’t good at anything, to we are going to be religious about just these four things for the next five years,” Her said.

The district’s plan centers on four primary goals:

College and career readiness

Each goal includes specific performance targets the district hopes to achieve by 2030. Among them, Fresno Unified aims to increase the percentage of first-grade students proficient in literacy, based on i-Ready assessment results, from 48% in 2024 to 80% by 2030.

The district also hopes to raise the percentage of high school graduates considered college- and career-ready under California’s College/Career Indicator from 43% in 2024 to 64% by 2030.

“We must have those types of goals,” Her said. “Because if we don’t, then we’re not going to have high expectations of our kids, and we’re not going to have high expectations of the people in the district.”

District leaders say the plan was developed through extensive community engagement, including public listening sessions, strategic planning meetings, school board discussions and conversations with teachers.

Alongside the goals are guardrails intended to ensure progress while maintaining equity and supporting all student groups.

However, Fresno Teachers Association President Manuel Bonilla said some educators felt their involvement in the planning process did not translate into meaningful influence over the final implementation strategy.

Bonilla read feedback from a participating teacher, who said the process lacked genuine collaboration.

“While the meetings were framed as a collaborative process to elicit educator feedback, the experience felt like an illusion of democracy,” Bonilla said, quoting the teacher. “It was clear from the very beginning that consultants arrived with predetermined agendas and fixed parameters.”

Bonilla emphasized that the Fresno Teachers Association supports the district setting long-term goals but expressed concern about an overemphasis on test-based metrics.

“When we just talk about test scores and make that the only type of data that shows a student’s learning, we actually miss a lot of the other things that are taking place within that sphere,” Bonilla said.

District leaders argue that the strategic plan is intended to create alignment throughout the organization. Annual district plans, division plans and individual school site plans will all be tied back to the broader strategic goals.

Her said adjustments can be made each year through annual planning processes while keeping the district focused on its long-term objectives.

“I do feel that with the strategic plan, it brings in a level of high expectations, a level of high accountability, and then a level of hope for our district,” Her said.

Bonilla said the teachers union remains willing to partner with district leadership as long as educators continue having a meaningful voice in the process.

“We’re willing to work alongside in order to accomplish the essence of these particular goals, even if there are some specifics that we disagree with,” Bonilla said. “But in order for that to happen, and for there to be shared responsibility and accountability, senior leadership needs to listen to the lived experience of our folks that are in our classrooms and on our campus every day.”

Fresno Unified officials provide the school board with monthly updates on the strategic plan’s progress, including areas where the district is meeting targets and where additional work is needed. The full plan includes detailed timelines, benchmarks and performance measures that will guide the district over the next five years.

You can find more details about Fresno Unified’s Strategic Plan by clicking here.

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