Eagle Point Elementary School leaders told the Board of Education that the school is emphasizing high-impact teaching strategies, STEM instruction and attendance improvements as part of a plan to lower chronic absenteeism.
Principal Jared Fox and home-school coordinator Kenny Griffin presented the school's goals and early results. Fox described two instructional priorities ' high-impact teaching methods to increase student discourse and Tiered System of Support (MTSS) approaches for both academics and behavior ' and noted the school had recently converted a classroom into a hands-on science lab.
Fox said the school currently enrolls about 312 students and reported demographic percentages: 32% white, 29% Black, 16% Hispanic and 12% Asian. He said 45% of students are economically disadvantaged and the multilingual learner population has increased.
On attendance, Griffin reported a current overall attendance rate of about 93% and said the school hopes to raise that to at least 95% this year. Fox said chronic absenteeism was 31.6% in February 2022, fell to 22.8% last year, and the school's new goal is to get below 20%.
Fox described student-focused initiatives including a science lab with an aquatic plant-fish exhibit, a "Just Run" program and field-day projects co-designed by students. He said a recent change from a STEM night to a STEM day produced higher participation.
Board members asked follow-up questions; several members praised the attendance gains and the school's student-engagement work. The presentation was part of the district highlights section of the meeting and board members indicated they will continue to monitor attendance and related outcomes.