JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – School may be out, but leaders with the Jackson Public School District (JPS) are still hard at work to prepare for what’s ahead.

JPS unveiled its five-year strategic plan during a leadership conference at the Jackson Convention Center.

The new plan consists of five commitments:

• Teaching and learning strategies
• Building stronger teams
• Sustaining joy
• Organizational effectiveness
• Strong finish

The district has several goals, including plans to increase reading, math and science scores for students in 3rd through 8th grade to 50% by 2029.

The new plans comes after JPS leaders made the decision to close 11 schools at the end of the 2023-24 school year.

“We have to we have to reconcile with the fact that this is an organization. There’s a business aspect to the district. And so, we’ve got to be able to pay our bills. We’ve got to be able to pay our team members a competitive wage, and there are things that you have to do to position yourself as an organization in order to do those things. You know, people want to go to a building, a school building or their workplace, if they work in a school and see that there’s a level of pride in it. And so, that has to be borne out in how we take care of our buildings,” said JPS Superintendent Dr. Errick Greene.

Greene said he’s proud of the district’s 84% graduation rate. He said the previous plan’s goal was 80%, and the students surpassed expectations.