District reports K–3 literacy gains under AGR program; math growth lags amid implementation issues

District staff on June 23 told the West Allis-West Milwaukee School Board that K–3 literacy growth improved this year after targeted Achievement Gap Reduction (AGR) interventions, while elementary math growth dipped and will be a focus for next-year coaching and curriculum implementation work.

Lisa (staff presenter), joined by Keith Ruffalo and Cory Sec, led the leadership and learning workshop. They told the board AGR funds support three allowed strategies — instructional coaching, maintaining lower classroom ratios and one‑to‑one tutoring — and that the district uses AGR allocations differently by school depending on socioeconomic enrollment. Cory summarized the year’s progress: “This year ... in literacy, 70 percent of our students made at least one year’s growth or better,” and said math declined from about 70% to 65% meeting that same growth benchmark.

Why it matters: AGR is a five‑year state grant that requires participating schools to target a reduction in achievement gaps between low‑income students and their statewide peers. Progress in K–3 literacy suggests early grades interventions and literacy professional learning are having measurable impact; math results and reported implementation problems with…