The 2026-2031 Lynchburg City Schools (LCS) Strategic Plan provides a roadmap for the future of education in Lynchburg. It will guide our school division as we strive to promote student success and meet the needs of our community.
This plan contains big-picture goals and strategies for the next five years. It is designed to help LCS achieve our vision of Growth, Opportunity, Success, and our mission to empower students for future success through high-quality instruction, supportive learning environments, and experiences that connect classroom learning to real-world opportunities.
The strategic plan was created in collaboration with LCS staff, students, community members, and leaders. Advanced Learning Partnerships, Inc., facilitated its development.
Goal 1: Student-Driven Learning
LCS students are curious, collaborative, and critical thinkers who set goals and build the competences to thrive in school, future careers, and life.
Objective 1.1: Student Goals & Growth
Students set purposeful growth goals and actively build the competencies needed for success, demonstrating ownership of their learning and a commitment to continuous growth.
Objective 1.2: Student Academic Support Systems
LCS student academic support systems are consistent, to ensure timely and effective interventions. Our academic support systems ensure that our students, especially those in federally identified schools, are engaged and able to successfully access rigorous academic instruction and demonstrate improved academic outcomes.
Objective 1.3: Future-Focused Pathways
Students engage in opportunities to explore career readiness, build their social-emotional capacity, and participate in career pathway experiences. Students set and monitor goals, apply knowledge and skills in real-world contexts, and are supported by aligned systems, strong leadership, and partnerships that ensure equitable opportunities for all learners.
Goal 2: Student-Centered School Culture
LCS fosters a division-wide culture of well-being, belonging, and support where students feel connected, engaged, and valued.
Objective 2.1: Student Belonging & Well-Being
Students’ emotional and physical well-being is supported through clear and consistent expectations, positive relationships, and student-centered supports that promote safety, belonging, and healthy development.
Objective 2.2: Engaged & Valued Students
Students feel respected, valued, recognized, and important as individuals through caring relationships and consistent, student-centered practices across LCS schools.
Objective 2.3: Consistent Care & Support
Students experience greater success, safety, and belonging through a positive school culture and climate built on fair, aligned, and consistently implemented student-centered supports and practices.
Goal 3: Purpose-Driven People
LCS employees are collaborators, dedicated to continuous professional growth, and committed to our community through a shared sense of purpose.
Objective 3.1: Professional Growth & Collaboration
Staff learn, lead, and grow professionally together to best support student learning and success. Staff engage in data-driven collaboration and feel empowered to share learning with their colleagues.
Objective 3.2: Workplace Community & Culture
LCS has strong retention and a stable and professional work culture that promotes accountability, responsibility, and high performance. Our staff grows through clear expectations, ongoing professional development, and consistent performance support and recognition.
Objective 3.3: Talented Staff Recruitment
LCS workplace culture and our comprehensive recruitment and hiring systems attract and select highly effective, qualified, and diverse staff who value and support each other and our students.
Goal 4: Safe & Sustainable Systems
LCS ensures safe, welcoming, and well-managed learning environments and operational systems that support well-being, collaboration, and trust.
Objective 4.1: Safe & Healthy Learning Environments
Staff and students work and learn in secure and sustainable learning environments. Students have the essential resources to learn with nutritious food, safe and reliable transportation, and well-maintained facilities to maximize their health and safety.
Objective 4.2: Integrated & Responsive Systems
Operations teams provide responsive communications and targeted support to staff, students, and families. Our technology systems are safe and accessible, and our fiscal systems have strong stewardship and transparent decisions on resource investments and allocations.
Objective 4.3: Collaborative Spaces
Staff, students, and families feel welcome and prepared to participate in our physical and digital learning spaces and innovations. Operations teams create, care for, and maintain systems that enable communities to connect, engage safely, and support the learning of all students.
Goal 5: Trusted Partnerships
Families, students, staff, and community partners experience trust, connection, and shared purpose through meaningful partnerships and transparent communication.
Objective 5.1: Family Connections
LCS actively cultivates strong relationships and creates meaningful opportunities for families and the community to engage, contribute, and partner with schools in ways that build trust, confidence, and authentic connection.
Objective 5.2: Meaningful Partnerships
Division and school staff intentionally build mutually beneficial relationships with community partners to support student success. Community partners provide impactful opportunities and experiences for students.
Objective 5.3: Consistent & Transparent Communication
Teachers and division staff communicate clearly, consistently, and in a timely manner to keep families well-informed. Families consistently respond to and participate in two-way communication, serving as collaborative partners in their child’s academic success.
Implementation
Our strategic plan lists strategies and objectives we will use to accomplish our goals over the next five years. We will continue to update our community on our progress as we implement this plan over the next five years.
Strategic Plan Creation Process
February 2025: LCS Gathers Community Feedback
In February of 2025, we collected input from community stakeholders using focus groups, feedback sessions, and an in-depth survey as part of our search for the current superintendent of LCS, Dr. Kristy Somerville-Midgette. Groups consulted include LCS staff, students, family members, administrators, School Board members, community members, and Lynchburg City Council members. Community members provided reflections on division and community strengths and critical areas for improvement. We used this data to inform our strategic plan.
February 2026: LCS Proposes Goals & Objectives, Gathers Community Feedback
In January and February of 2026, LCS school and division leaders designed goals and objectives for the division, integrating the community feedback mentioned above, as well as their own expertise and knowledge of division operations, functions, and student needs. They presented these goals and objectives at a town hall meeting on Feb. 19 and solicited community feedback through a survey.
June 2026: Strategic Plan Presented to School Board
In March through May of 2026, LCS leaders refined goals and objectives and formulated the strategic plan, integrating community survey and town hall feedback. LCS Superintendent Dr. Kristy Somerville-Midgette presented the strategic plan to the Lynchburg City School Board in June 2026.