Volusia credits aligned instruction and progress monitoring for districtA rating

Volusia County School District leaders told the school board at an Aug. 12 workshop that consistent instructional systems, weekly progress monitoring and hands-on district support helped the district earn an A rating for the first time in 16 years. Superintendent Carmen Balgobin and leaders from the Teaching, Leading and Learning (TLL) division presented a three-year continuous-improvement approach they said produced steady gains across grades, subject areas and student subgroups. The districts chief of staff, Johnny Cash, introduced the presentation and said the workshop would focus on "how the sausage is made"the systems behind the outcomes. Dr. Julio Valle, chief academic officer, told the board that TLL developed a clear instructional focus, "look fors" and common curriculum maps aligned to the…