Superintendent Dr. Moore reported to the board that Indian River County schools recorded large gains on this year’s state assessments, moving the district into the top five statewide. He told board members the district’s “third through 10th grade ELA scores” and combined mathematics improved substantially and that several schools moved up multiple letter grades.

The superintendent said third-grade English language arts achievement reached 71 percent and that third-through-eighth grade math, including acceleration courses, showed strong growth. “We are now number 5 in the state,” Dr. Moore said, noting that the district ranks higher than many peers that have lower free-and-reduced-lunch percentages.

Why it matters: those accountability gains drive school letter grades, affect public perceptions, and shape district priorities such as staffing, curriculum choices and professional development. The superintendent framed the results as the product of a multi-year strategic plan and concentrated work at school sites.

Dr. Moore detailed school-level highlights: several elementary and middle schools advanced to A status (Beachland, Liberty, Gifford Middle, Storm Grove Middle and others) and two high schools achieved A grades (Sebastian River High School and Vero Beach Senior High School). He said no school regressed in letter grade; every school either maintained its grade or moved up.

Board members asked for evidence of equitable growth. Dr. Moore pointed to subgroup improvements: Hispanic students’ proficiency increased from 41 to 53 percent, Black students from 33 to 49 percent and White students from 59 to 69 percent on the combined ELA/mathematics measure, representing multi-year progress, he said.

The superintendent stressed the work ahead is to sustain and deepen gains. He identified target populations for additional instruction — for example, students scoring in the 26th–50th percentile — and called for more rigorous work for the highest-performing students so they continue to show a year’s growth. He also described professional development and a district mobile app intended to help principals, teachers and families track goals and interventions.

The presentation closed with the superintendent saying staff would convert the district’s improvement ambitions into school-level plans and targets for the 2025–26 year. “That concludes this presentation,” Dr. Moore told the board.

The board did not take formal action at the workshop; the presentation was an update ahead of regular meeting items and personnel-level planning.