Olympia School District West‑side principals report gains on school improvement goals

Principals and student‑support staff from seven West‑side schools presented progress reports to the Olympia School District Board of Directors at a Feb. 20 work session, telling trustees the district’s school improvement strategies are producing measurable gains in student engagement, literacy and behavior while work continues to close gaps for specific student groups.

The presentations came during a board work session focused on West‑side feeder patterns. Jefferson Middle School, Capital High School, L.P. Brown Elementary, Thurgood Marshall Middle School, Garfield Elementary, McLean Elementary and Hansen Elementary each summarized this year’s School Improvement Plan goals, evidence of progress and next steps.

The updates matter because the district links these local school plans to systemwide outcomes such as students’ sense of belonging, social‑emotional learning and college/career readiness. School leaders said the combination of clearer systems, targeted instruction, and additional counseling support is improving student attendance, classroom engagement and early literacy growth, outcomes the district tracks with Panorama and internal data tools.

At Jefferson Middle School, presenters said the school is two years into a three‑year plan focused on communication, rigor and integrity and reported increases in students’ sense of belonging. Jefferson staff said monthly surveys showed a climb in belonging from 46% the previous year to 51% and set a target to reach 60% this year. Assistant Principal Lindsay Welsh described expanded counseling supports and extracurricular options and said the school has “expanded our multi tier system of support, allowing us to better address our student needs,” which staff attribute to reduced referrals and improved engagement. Jefferson staff noted the school ranked in the top 5% statewide for student growth on the Washington School Improvement Framework.

Capital High School Principal Connie Wood said two system changes — a tightened attendance policy (progressive consequences for repeated tardies) and a classroom cell‑phone ban — were implemented district‑wide at her site. Wood reported phone incidents dropped from about 40 per day in September to fewer than 10 per day after the ban, and said teachers called the policy “a game changer” for classroom focus. Wood also described offering flexible scheduling and online courses through Edgenuity to help students re‑engage when mental‑health or family obligations prevent full‑day attendance.

L.P. Brown Principal Sean (last name not specified in the presentation) credited systematic, direct instruction and district‑wide reading programs with rapid gains in early literacy. He highlighted deployment of UPLI (University‑based literacy work) k–2 and said a large share of students in some grade levels made fluency gains of 15–20 words per minute in a two‑month span. He called the progress “massive growth” and said it removed the school from state “improvement” identification for the subgroups previously targeted.

Thurgood Marshall Middle School’s presentation focused on counseling and SEL supports. Assistant Principal Michelle Weber and counselors Megan Smith and Michelle Roland said direct student services increased (their fall study showed a 51% increase in direct services) and described monthly “minute meetings,” SEL lessons and individual counseling sessions intended to raise belonging and resilience. The counselors outlined specific counts of services (for example, roughly 160 individual sessions in December and January and more than 50 stakeholder consultation meetings each month) and said those interventions target students identified as most vulnerable.

Garfield Elementary staff described a midyear review that met the school’s third‑to‑fifth grade ELA growth goal for all students (a midyear target of moving adequate progress from 42% to 50%), though they reported that Hispanic students and students with IEPs still lag and require additional supports. Garfield outlined targeted, short‑cycle instructional plans (3–6 week focused interventions), increased co‑teaching and an AVID School‑wide push emphasizing collaboration, goal setting and inclusion. Staff shared student writing that described goal setting and organizational gains.

McLean Elementary presenters stressed classroom practices that amplify student voice, including short “brain moments” and recognition systems that teachers use to reinforce deep thinking and student agency. Hansen Elementary Principal Callie Jones and an interventionist described two intervention teams, daily whole‑school morning meetings of roughly 385 students, routine data review, PBIS with greater fidelity and an AVID mentorship partnership with a nearby middle school; Hansen reported a roughly 50% reduction in discipline incidents from October to January.

Board members and student representatives asked about data access, sustainability and community concerns. Directors encouraged continued fidelity, staffing stability and broader access to the district data dashboard (several principals requested counselor access). District leaders reiterated that policies and family outreach are being used proactively to reassure families about safety and access to supports. Director remarks included district‑wide Panorama results the superintendent’s office provided in the meeting, noting year‑over‑year increases in cultural awareness and action measures.

The board plans follow‑up and will hold its next regular meeting Feb. 27, beginning with recognition of co‑teachers of the year at 6 p.m. before the evening agenda. Presenters asked the board to continue supporting staffing stability, targeted professional development and data access for counselors as next steps to sustain the gains reported tonight.