Jerstad administrators report test gains, outline plan to exit CSI status

Directing Principal Danny Hernandez and Jerstad school leaders told the Racine Unified School District Board of Education on June 16 that the school made measurable gains on district and state measures but must improve English-language access testing to exit CSI status.

Hernandez said Jerstad set an ambitious college- and career-ready (CCR) target this year for eighth-grade MAP reading — a CCR cut score of 225 — but fell short of the 25% goal, with 19% of promoted students reaching 225 or higher. He said the school has met two of the three progress-to-exit criteria tied to its CSI designation, and that access-test scores remain the primary outstanding metric.

School leaders described other performance and operational data they said illustrate progress and remaining work. Hernandez told the board the school expects to finish the year with roughly 86% student attendance, up from 80% in 2022–23 and 85% in 2023–24. He also said suspensions rose to “in the neighborhood of 150 or 160” for the year. The presentation credited frequent administrative classroom walkthroughs — 564 walkthroughs reported through December, followed by formal evaluations later in the year — and strengthened professional learning communities (PLCs) for part of the improvement.

The Jerstad team said administrators had worked with the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) and had begun early planning to address access-test outcomes. Hernandez and assistant principals described expanding Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions, increased instructional coaching, and a focus on teacher ownership of school improvement plan goals. They also said staff continuity was a strength: roughly 95% of staff were returning and several Roosevelt staff will join Jerstad as that school closes.

Board members asked for more disaggregated data on attendance and mobility. Trustee Coley asked for the attendance and suspension figures; Hernandez provided the 86% estimate and the suspension range. Several trustees — including Doxey and Walker Cleveland — urged the Jerstad team to present data showing outcomes for students who remained at the school versus students who are mobile or chronically absent, to separate school-program effects from attendance and mobility factors.

Hernandez said the leadership team will meet in July to set work for the coming year, with a focus on improving access-test results, absorbing Roosevelt families, and continuing PLC and walkthrough practices.

The board did not take any formal action on Jerstad during the meeting; the item was informational.