Eastside principal cites attendance, reading and math goals and spotlights student engagement programs

Catherine Woodard, principal of Eastside Elementary, told the Coffee County Board of Education on Sept. 25 that the school enrolls 556 students and has set targets to raise literacy and math scores while reducing intervention-level placements. "The goal is to turn data into information and information into insight," Woodard said, introducing the school's assessment and attendance data. Why it matters: Woodard said many students began the year in intervention or urgent-intervention tiers; staff absences and chronic student absenteeism were presented as obstacles that affect classroom continuity and the district's use of substitutes. Woodard said Eastside's two academic goals for the year are to increase STAAR reading proficiency by 5% in grades 1–5 and to increase STAR early-literacy proficiency by 5% in kindergarten and first grade from fall to spring. She said the school also aims to raise…