Monterey Elementary School leaders on Sept. 25 told the Harrison School District 2 Board of Education that the school is showing steady student growth and expanded family and social-emotional supports while serving a predominantly multilingual, low-income student population.

School leaders said the details matter because Monterey serves many students who are learning English and students with higher needs, and the supports they described are intended to improve achievement and daily access to school.

Principal Erica Tenson and assistant principal Renee Dahl led a presentation describing Monterey’s enrollment, staff and programs. ‘‘We have 273 right now,’’ said Christy Armstrong, a fifth-grade teacher, giving the school’s most recent enrollment figure. Staff described Monterey as 58% Hispanic, 13% Black or African American, 15% White, 11% multiracial and 2% other, with about 81% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. The presenters said 24% of students are recorded as RML (recent multilingual learners) and that 75 of those students are considered non–English proficient; the presentation did not clarify whether that latter figure was a raw count or a percentage.

School staff outlined the personnel that support students: 12 classroom teachers, several special-education teachers and paraprofessionals, three specials teachers (art, STEAM and physical education), a reading interventionist, a counselor, a social worker, a speech pathologist, and shared psychologist services. Staff also listed nonteaching roles including four SPED paraprofessionals, two instructional paraprofessionals, a health tech, three kitchen staff, a building engineer, custodial staff and two office staff.

Monterey’s educators described multiple day-to-day practices aimed at behavior and social-emotional learning. Staff said morning ‘‘rocks’’ routines and a positive behavior intervention system reward students with punches toward a ‘‘rock star treasure box’’ after 20 punches. The school also holds weekly counselor visits: kindergarten through second grade cover basic feeling identification and core social skills, while third through fifth graders receive lessons distinguishing mean, rude and bullying and building coping and problem-solving skills.

Teachers described classroom practices intended to support multilingual learners, including language-rich strategies, visuals, and increased opportunities for students to speak and lead discussions. The presentation highlighted that the school focuses on keeping students in class, with administrators and staff visible at pickups and drop-offs and teachers collaborating in weekly professional learning time.

On achievement data, the Monterey presentation cited a 72-point score on the district’s School Performance Framework (SPF) and noted the school has been on a multi-year improvement trajectory since emerging from a turnaround status. Presenters said Monterey meets or exceeds annual growth expectations in many grades and subjects but still shows low achievement in some grade-level assessments; they identified K–2 achievement and certain grade-level ELA and math measures as areas targeted for improvement.

Board members praised Monterey’s community engagement and staff visibility. A board member asked about the school’s maximum capacity; school staff said Monterey previously held about 420 students when it served as a district center base and that current enrollment is about 273–280, noting new students had arrived that week.

The presentation closed with staff inviting board members and the public to school events such as a trunk-or-treat on Oct. 24 and with a photo of student presenters.

The presentation contained specific program names and data that the school used to justify targeted supports; the board did not take formal action on the presentation but commended Monterey’s leaders and staff.