Every student at Newport Harbor High, Corona del Mar High, Ensign Intermediate and the district's 29 other campuses now falls under a single five-year roadmap after Newport-Mesa Unified School District published its 2026–2031 Strategic Plan on Monday, Aug. 24.
The board voted 7-0 on July 21 to approve the plan, which will govern budgeting, accountability and major decisions district-wide through 2031. The document is the product of more than a year of community input from students, educators, families and staff, according to the district.
Four pillars, one framework
The plan organizes the district's priorities into four areas: Academics, Belonging, Connections and Resources.
Under Academics, NMUSD commits to college-preparatory course offerings at every school, digital literacy instruction and expanded learning opportunities. The Belonging pillar calls for systems that ensure students are known beyond grades and test scores. Connections focuses on engaging families and staff as community-builders through civic participation and service. Resources requires that time, talent and funding be strategically aligned and equitably allocated to support student achievement.
Tying it together is a "Portrait of a Graduate" framework describing the qualities the district wants every graduate to develop: critical thinking, technology navigation, communication and empathetic leadership.
Board tweaks and an equity question
At the July 21 meeting, Trustee Ashley Anderson successfully pushed to replace "fundraising" with "fund development" under Resources and to swap a redundant "problem-solve" phrase for "learn." The full board agreed to both changes.
Trustee Krista Weigand, who called the first draft "pretty harsh," said she was satisfied with the final version. "It's strong, but not leaving out the fact that we want to be empathetic, but we are strong forward thinkers and we develop our students for what lies ahead in their future," Weigand said at the July 21 meeting, as reported by Stu News Newport.
During public comment at that same meeting, PTA and school site council member Chelsea Cody Waters noted the plan contains no formal definition of equity. Superintendent Wesley Smith responded at the meeting that the district years ago worked to "de-weaponize that word," defining equity as students getting what they need, when and where they need it, and when they need more, they get more. Smith committed to bringing strategic actions, metrics and definitions back to the board, though no timeline was given.
What families should know
The plan is available in English, Spanish and Russian on the district website. NMUSD serves about 17,700 students across 32 schools, including Newport Beach's Newport Harbor High, Corona del Mar High and Ensign Intermediate.
Smith has pledged measurable accountability targets tied to the plan's goals. The next step is a board presentation of those metrics, though no date has been announced.
