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District highlights stretch growth under weighted student funding; principals cite tutoring, co‑teaching and interventionists
Summary
District leaders told trustees several schools saw significant stretch growth after weighted student funding (WSF) investments; principals credited interventionists, co‑teaching and tutoring programs and the district has built a WSF dashboard to track cost‑per‑pupil strategies.
The Charleston County School District presented trustees with results showing measurable ‘‘stretch growth’’ for student groups targeted by the district’s Weighted Student Funding program. District leaders named multiple elementary and middle schools where large shares of students exceeded typical growth expectations after targeted WSF investment.
Superintendent and senior staff highlighted examples submitted by principals: Pinkney (students with disabilities) reported 41% meeting stretch growth in reading; Bell Hall Elementary and Carolina Park reported double‑digit stretch‑growth percentages in reading and math; multiple schools reported roughly half of multilingual learners making stretch gains. The district said it recognized named principals and principals appeared by Zoom or in person to be acknowledged.
Principals and instructional leaders described how they used WSF to support students. One principal told the board, “All of our support, academic support is during the regular school day. It is with the WSF support. We have academic interventionists … working with small groups in 30‑minute increments.” Another said tutoring is provided after school by paying teachers to run sessions one to three times per week. The district also cited Saturday tutoring at some schools (Sanders Clyde) and a growing emphasis on co‑teaching models, professional learning communities and teacher coaching.
District staff said they built an internal WSF dashboard that requires principals to enter specific strategies, student groups and per‑pupil allocations, including personnel by employee ID; the dashboard calculates the cost‑per‑pupil for a strategy so the district can compare expenditures with student outcomes.
Why it matters: WSF is intended to channel funds to schools based on needs (multilingual learners, students with disabilities, pupils in poverty). Trustees praised principals’ results, but budget staff also noted that holding schools harmless for enrollment shifts in FY26 required a roughly $2.5 million allocation; trustees pressed for continued transparency about sustainability as WSF expands.
Ending: District leaders said they will continue to share WSF outcomes and the new dashboard data with the board as they monitor impact and prepare for next year’s budget cycle.
