Battle Creek Public Schools reports mixed gains, persistent gaps in annual progress review

Doctor Carter presented the district's end-of-year progress report, saying the data show both progress and work still to do. "We set 3 priorities at the beginning of the year: improve academic outcomes, decrease chronic absenteeism, and create safe and positive school cultures," Carter said during the meeting.

The report drew on NWEA MAP and state accountability (M-STEP) results and found that elementary schools posted several double-digit gains in reading and math at specific schools, but overall district percentile ranks declined slightly in spring 2025 compared with spring 2024. Carter said reading and math scores remain below their spring 2019 peak and that the district's secondary schools were driving the modest districtwide decline.

The presentation highlighted widening racial disparities and uneven outcomes for subgroups. English learners showed a roughly 4 percentage-point decline in reading from 2024 to 2025 and remain at their lowest percentile rank since fall 2017; students receiving special education services also saw reading declines. Carter said the gap between the district's two largest racial groups, Black and White students, has grown and that discipline disparities are correlated with lower achievement for students who miss instruction.

Attendance and student engagement were central concerns. Carter said average daily attendance (ADA) at many elementary schools improved but that chronic absenteeism remains a major problem at the secondary level. Middle grades (6–9) reported that only half of students say they enjoy school and 41% believe students are not treated fairly. Carter told the board those responses help explain weak engagement and the district's ongoing attendance challenges.

Discipline data showed roughly 9,000 office discipline referral (ODR) incidents districtwide, a level Carter called "consistent" with recent years and higher than the approximate 5% target many districts use. The presentation said the largest category of ODRs is recorded as "disrespect/defiance," not primarily physical violence, and that Black students are overrepresented in referrals. District staff said they track interventions (through a system called Schoolytics) and are prioritizing coaching and classroom supports to reduce referrals while increasing interventions.

Carter described planned responses for 2025–26: targeted professional development at all job levels, a focus on curriculum implementation fidelity, expanded tier‑1 instruction, intervention scheduling in middle schools (a 4:1 model with one intervention day), and efforts to scale proven partnerships and mentoring programs. She said the district will use monthly and triannual checks (STAR monthly, NWEA three times per year, M-STEP annually) to monitor progress and adjust strategy.

Board discussion focused on causes and remedies: trustees pressed for clearer owner ship of policies and more consistent implementation of discipline procedures across schools, and asked for data that links referrals to specific classrooms or teachers. Carter said she will convene a summer work group of teachers, principals and central staff to clarify practice and to align implementation with the district's ROAR matrix and code of conduct.

The board did not take formal action on the report; Carter said performance targets in the district's new strategic plan will guide annual monitoring and budget priorities.