Bloomfield staff tell Ralston school board reading gains continue but chronic absenteeism has risen

Bloomfield Elementary leaders told the Ralston Public Schools Board of Education on May 12 that the school’s reading proficiency shows modest gains after a year of targeted professional development, while chronic absenteeism has moved in the wrong direction and will be the school’s primary focus next year.

The presentation outlined two formal goals: improve reading scores on the NSCAS summative assessment to at-or-above the state proficiency average, and reduce chronic absenteeism by 10 percentage points to raise average daily attendance to 97%.

Bloomfield’s principal (presenting) said the school’s spring snapshot showed 33% of students “on track” and 14% at “college and career ready,” combining to about 47% proficiency on the NSCAS summative in the most recent report. The principal said, “Our reading goal is to improve reading as measured by NSCAS summative, to at or above state proficiency average.” The principal also noted that, for a cohort that previously scored 63% proficient in fourth grade, proficiency dropped to 56% this year, but added that “70 percent of our kids who returned actually improved their score.”

School leaders said special education services make up roughly 30% of Bloomfield’s enrollment — “almost double the standard at the state,” the presentation reported — and that the building added five special-education teachers this year. Bloomfield partnered with a consultant identified in the presentation as Special Ed Strategies to train teachers in co-planning, Universal Design for Learning and MTSS. The school reported pre/post survey shifts among teachers: the share who felt prepared to increase access for special-education students rose from 54% to 95%; confidence using data for decisions rose from 35% to 90%; collaborative planning readiness rose from 35% to 95%; and knowledge of MTSS rose from 54% to 85% (figures presented by Bloomfield staff).

Attendance was framed as an escalating concern. Bloomfield’s attendance lead, identified in the presentation as Miss Reeves, said, “The data on the next slide does show a direction that we do not want to go. We are sliding backwards.” The presentation and Q&A named several possible contributors: the growing special-education population, shifts in family cultural expectations about school attendance, language barriers, and families scheduling vacations or appointments on instructional days. Staff estimated that shifts in state testing policy — fewer students taking the alternative NSCAS assessment and more taking the general test — reduced reported proficiency by about two percentage points for some groups; the estimate was presented by school staff as a factor in the overall score changes.

Bloomfield described a package of attendance interventions it is rolling out: tiered risk monitoring (low risk / high risk / chronic) with weekly email alerts to classroom teachers; scripted 5-day phone-call interventions; “hot ticket” incentive weeks that temporarily boost on-time arrival; monthly leadership assemblies that celebrate attendance gains; 25-day check-ins with all families; distribution of a school calendar that highlights “learning days” and recommends scheduling vacations and nonurgent appointments on open dates; and planned equity-focused professional development with Dwayne Chisholm to help staff better engage diverse families. Staff said the school has begun using a language line and dedicated Spanish-speaking staff to improve communication with families.

Board members asked about the makeup of the students taking alternative assessments and whether the board should advocate at the state level; school staff described the state’s approval checklist used to move a student to the alternative assessment and emphasized the local team-based review required before deciding assessment type. Board members praised the school’s special-education work and asked how the board could support the school’s engagement work.

The presentation closed with Bloomfield staff saying the school will continue the SPED strategies work and shift a larger share of next year’s improvement effort toward behavior supports and classroom strategies to help students meet the demands of the adopted reading curriculum.

Bloomfield provided the board with slide materials and teacher-survey data cited in the presentation; no formal board action (motions or votes) was taken on the Bloomfield report during the meeting.