Wadawitz Elementary reports literacy gains, cites attendance and medical-need absences as barriers

Donna Katz, directing principal at Wadawitz Elementary School, told the Racine Unified School District Board of Education on March 17 that the school is seeing measurable literacy growth but continues to face attendance challenges related to a high special education and medically fragile population.

Katz said the school set a kindergarten literacy benchmark of 90 percent for letter-sound mastery; last year the school reached about 87 percent and data this year are trending toward the 90 percent target. "We want to make sure that 90% of all of our kindergarteners ... know all of their letter sounds," Katz said.

Katz described attendance as a persistent constraint: overall student attendance last year was "just a pinch below 90%," and she said the school has a goal of 91% this year. She told the board that students who are medically fragile may miss frequent half-days for therapy and medical appointments and that those absences nonetheless count toward the school's attendance rate. "A doctor's appointment is a doctor's appointment," Katz said, noting the district records such absences as part of chronic absenteeism calculations.

Katz highlighted instructional progress: Wadawitz is implementing Act 20 reading plans and reported strong year-over-year gains, including a cited literacy benchmark increase she described as moving from about "10.2 ... up to 25%" within a school year (presenter phrasing). She said the school is outpacing roughly 70% of the district’s K–5 schools in growth measures and credited stable staff, targeted interventions and literacy coaches.

Board members asked about transiency and English learner trends. Katz said student transiency remains a challenge but that consistent district-wide screening and shared data practices help incoming students access the school's interventions. She said improvements among Black/African American students and among Hispanic/Latino and EL learners have been notable.

Board members also asked about staff turnover and the importance of literacy coaches and Title I reading teachers. Katz told the board that many staff members have long tenures at the school and that the literacy coaching team is central to sustained gains. "They are the heartbeat of our building through and through," Katz said.

Short-term priorities Katz described included continuing early-literacy interventions, improving attendance outreach through home visits and sustaining literacy coaching positions. No formal board action was taken specific to Wadawitz during the March 17 meeting.