Catoosa outlines targeted plans for Westside and Lakeview Middle after state designations

Catoosa County School Board members received updates on targeted school improvement work for Westside and Lakeview Middle School. District and school leaders described multi-year interventions, state-provided budgets and specific instructional strategies intended to raise student achievement. For Westside (identified for Additional Targeted Support and Improvement, ATSI), presenters said the school is in its third year of ATSI work and used a state-provided ATSI budget to fund endorsements and training: seven teachers sought ESOL endorsement, staff received Orton-Gillingham reading morphology training and participants attended a federal programs conference. The school is implementing a new literacy curriculum (Benchmark Advance) with coaching and reports showing gains on Georgia Milestones from 2023'24 to 2024'25, including an increase in students classified as having high growth on ACCESS for ELs from 7.4% to 31.7% and a reduction in students with low growth from 67.7% to 39.5%. District goals for Westside were presented: raise EL Georgia Milestones proficiency from 5% to 15% and improve special education ELA performance from 11% to 25% by May 2026. The transcript states the school will participate in state training and an instructional awareness walk by the state team on Sept. 22. Lakeview Middle School was described as eligible for the Georgia Promise Act scholarship list because its CCRPI scores placed it in the bottom 25 percent statewide for the qualifying years. District leaders presented a focused action plan centered on three goals for 2025'26: (1) strengthen professional learning communities (PLCs) with pre-submitted agendas and real-time coaching; (2) maximize extended learning time (ELT) through data-driven grouping and monitored instruction; and (3) ensure rigorous, engaging Tier 1 instruction with monitoring through short observations ("lows and grows") and increased coaching. Specific practices cited include early-dismissal PLC time on Wednesdays, scheduling students for ELT based on benchmark and Milestones data, teacher coaching visits, Kagan cooperative learning training for 22 teachers, Capturing Kids' Hearts training previously provided, classroom observation routines beyond TEACH/TEEX formal observations, and use of Georgia Department of Education Inspire lessons and other exemplar math instruction models observed from neighboring districts. District leaders emphasized ongoing monitoring and data collection and set measurable targets and timelines. The transcript records presentations and board acknowledgement; the materials and next steps (state observation, monitoring visits and follow-up) were placed on the agenda for continued oversight.