Granite district outlines boost-school supports, new teacher data tool to track cohort achievement

Granite School District staff on Sept. 2 updated the board on the district’s strategic plan, describing a new Boost initiative for the lowest-performing schools and a teacher-facing data tool designed to let classroom teachers track the same cohort of students over time.

The district presented the report as “the first of some bimonthly strategic plan reports,” said Dr. Joan Bramble, a district presenter, and said the plan’s long-term goals are a 1% increase in proficiency and a 1% increase in graduation rate each year. The presentation tied three priorities — academics, social skills and dispositions, and talent development — to both leading and lagging indicators.

The Boost initiative identifies schools using three years of state accountability data and targets supports at a limited number of campuses so the district can provide sustained assistance, Dr. Bramble said. For the current year the district identified six elementary schools, two junior highs and one high school as Boost schools. Supports already provided include full-time assistant principals at some elementary sites, placement of instructional coaches at each Boost school, summer planning for teachers and leadership training; district learning and improvement directors (SLIDs) are making regular site visits.

“Our plan has been…