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Superintendent Moore reports improved staffing, graduation gains and summer program outcomes
Summary
Superintendent Doctor Moore told the board the district reduced teacher vacancies more than 50% from last year, reported preliminary graduation figures and summarized summer academic programs and staff professional learning.
Superintendent Doctor Moore reported to the Richland School District Two Board of Trustees on Aug. 12 that the district reduced certified vacancies by more than half compared with the previous school year, summarized spring graduation and summer program outcomes, and outlined several staffing and professional development initiatives.
Key data and takeaways
- Graduates: Moore reported preliminary numbers for the spring 2025 graduating cohort, noting the state has not finalized totals. The district’s preliminary total was 2,142 graduates across high school and adult education ceremonies. - College and career readiness: Moore said 73.2% of the graduating cohort met the district’s college-and-career-ready measure; 71.1% met career-ready measures. - Career and technical education: The district reported 598 CTE completers and 961 industry certifications. - Summer academic programs: The district ran a required summer reading camp for eligible third graders (Bridal Creek Elementary) with 168 students offered placement and a staff of 39; Superintendent Moore said 23 students met the higher cut score this year after statewide standards were raised, and noted an appeal process exists for families. Middle school summer programming had 96 participating students and a 99% success rate; high school summer options showed 51 students with a reported success rate of 96%. - Staffing: Moore said districtwide certified vacancies declined from about 60 classroom teacher vacancies (2024–25 start) to 25 classroom vacancies for 2025–26, and other certified positions fell from 19 to 15. She credited targeted recruiting, sign-on/referral bonuses, streamlined hiring and outreach to colleges as contributors to progress. - Professional learning: The district offered 43 professional-learning sessions this summer (math and science-of-reading focus), with more than 2,000 participants and roughly $301,000 paid in participant stipends.
Why it matters: the reductions in vacancies and the success rates in summer programming are directly tied to classroom stability and students’ progress toward graduation and postsecondary or workforce readiness.
Board questions and follow-up
Trustee Nikki Porter asked for percentage-based visuals to help the board interpret raw numbers for graduation and other measures; Porter requested success-rate visuals for elementary summer programs that were included for middle and high school. Trustee Doctor Elkins Scott thanked Moore for the detail and said the report was helpful; Trustee Mister Dennis singled out the decline in chronic absenteeism as notable.
What the superintendent said about challenges
Moore described barriers to expanding some CTE internships, including transportation limits and scheduling conflicts with employer requirements. She also noted state certification limits affect some vendor and program counts and that ongoing conversations with employers and community partners are part of the district’s strategy.
Ending
Moore concluded by saying the district will continue active recruitment for hard-to-fill roles (special education, middle school social science, speech-language pathology and school psychology), and will use the board’s retreat work to align board priorities with district strategic goals. Trustees asked for follow-up visuals and more frequent updates on metrics tied to strategic goals.
