West Valley School District leaders presented a three‑part data summit to the school board on July 22, reviewing kindergarten readiness, K–8 I‑Ready reading and math diagnostics and post‑graduation outcomes for recent classes.

The presentation, led by Assistant Superintendent Stacy Drake and supported by district data staff including Jed Waters, showed fall‑to‑spring gains in reading and math diagnostics but highlighted persistent needs in social‑emotional and language development among incoming kindergartners. Drake said the district’s November WA‑Kids kindergarten assessment showed the lowest domain scores in social‑emotional skills and that early learning partners attribute much of the deficit to speech and language delays that began during COVID‑era masking and reduced language play.

District leaders framed the kindergarten results as actionable. “Early intervention works,” Drake said, describing ongoing collaboration with early learning providers on language and self‑regulation strategies. The district noted that kindergarten readiness remains an explicit strategic plan goal: 90 percent of students on grade level.

I‑Ready diagnostics: The district reported that, across K–8, the proportion of students on grade level in reading rose from a fall baseline to a higher spring outcome (district figures presented showed a rise from roughly 19 percent on grade level in fall to about 43 percent by spring for a district aggregate example). Drake summarized national norm comparisons supplied by I‑Ready and said West Valley’s mid‑year and spring percentages are roughly in line with or slightly above national norms in many bands, while pockets of students remain one or more grade levels behind.

Growth measures and curriculum: The presentation emphasized the district’s move to more structured literacy approaches in K–1 and a new ELA adoption for grades 6–8 (“Into Literature”) intended to reduce variability across classrooms. Drake said first‑year implementation of K–5 reading adoption did not produce the expected dip in districtwide scores and expressed hope that first‑grade scores would recover as cohorts experience the new structured lessons. For math, staff said teachers and leaders have expressed a desire for a new K–5 math curriculum but that budget timing will determine whether a replacement occurs in the coming year or is deferred.

Washington State Improvement Framework and special programs: The district reviewed WSIF decile scores by school and subgroup. Drake highlighted steady or improved results for several schools and said inclusionary practices — placing students with IEPs in general education settings and pushing special‑education services into classrooms — have increased the district’s “least restrictive environment” rates (reported as rising from a baseline to the mid 70s percent for students served 80–100 percent of the day in general education). She also noted the district had identified cases where eligible students were not routed to alternative portfolio assessments (WA‑AIM) in time, which produced zeros on some SBAC submissions; the district said staff training and IEP fall checks were being added to reduce that problem.

High school outcomes and postsecondary data: The board saw graduation and postsecondary placement data. The district reported a class‑of‑2024 graduation rate of 89.2 percent, above the state rate cited in the presentation. Staff highlighted dual‑credit participation (district figure cited: about 93 percent of 12th‑grade graduates receiving some dual credit, compared with a state number presented) and shared recent JROTC outcomes: for the class of 2025, the district listed 17 graduates receiving service‑connected scholarship or tuition assistance and named branch placements (Army, Army National Guard, Navy, Air Force and Space Force) as recorded by the program, with district staff crediting JROTC instructors and Jed Waters for compiling the public record.

Remediation and college placement: Drake noted a multi‑year drop in the share of students needing remediation when they enroll at two‑year colleges (one slide cited a drop from earlier high numbers to 31 percent), and district staff pointed to high school articulated courses and on‑site college classes as drivers of that improvement. The district also raised a concern about FAFSA completion: the preliminary class‑of‑2025 rate presented was 44 percent and staff described it as a downward trend they will investigate.

Why it matters: District leaders presented the data to inform curriculum, staffing and professional‑development choices and to prioritize early language interventions, inclusionary special‑education strategies and supports at schools with lower ELL and special‑education performance. The board used the session for questions about norms, growth targets and curriculum timelines.

Board direction and next steps: The session was a presentation and discussion; no formal action was taken during the data summit. Staff said state Smarter Balanced results (SBAC) for grades 3–8 will be shared at the fall data summit when available and that principals will continue to review teacher‑level I‑Ready grids for targeted instructional coaching.