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District reports improved chronic-absence trends, highlights targeted building gains and ELL progress
Summary
District staff presented updated Iowa School Performance Profile analysis on May 27, showing improvement in chronic-absence measures, new tracking for AP and work-based learning metrics and singled out Grant Wood and North Central elementary schools for targeted progress, including an ELL award for North Central.
District staff presented an update on the Iowa School Performance Profile at the May 27 board meeting and highlighted work at individual buildings to improve attendance and academic outcomes.
What staff reported: Administrators said a new chronic-absence measure was added to the state performance profile this year. The district’s internal dashboards show about a 7.25 percentage-point improvement for students who were chronically absent the prior year, officials said; they cautioned the state’s data-pulling method remains under review and the district is awaiting confirmation from the Iowa Department of Education about the final numbers.
Why it matters: Chronic absenteeism is a new, formal component of Iowa’s profile and the district tied attendance gains to building-level interventions, including family outreach and the district-funded student-and-family-advocate role.
Building-level examples: Grant Wood Elementary, which had been targeted under state designations, reported improvements in early-grade screeners and fourth-grade performance; Principal Ernie Cox said professional learning communities and a focus on universal instruction and formative assessment were central to those gains. North Central Middle School described a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) that separates academic and behavioral interventions and reported targeted improvements for English-language learners; North Central staff said the school earned an ICCSD “ELL Superstar Award” for student growth on the spring ELPA-21 summative assessment.
Postsecondary readiness and work-based learning: District leaders said the high-school profile now incorporates postsecondary readiness indicators such as AP performance, Kirkwood dual-credit and new industry-recognized credential measures. Staff said some courses were not previously coded to count toward work-based learning and that fixing coding and course labels can increase a school’s postsecondary-readiness score in future years.
Data and timing limits: Officials noted the state’s profile is inherently lagged; the 2024–25 profile largely reflects cohorts who graduated in 2023, so district staff said they expect to see improvements in future profile updates as current program changes work through the system.
Next steps: Administrators said they will continue to refine data dashboards, work with the state to ensure accurate data pulls and expand work-based opportunities, including district-created credentials and partnerships with Junior Achievement. Staff presented building action plans and said they will continue monitoring progress through school-based PLCs and MTSS teams.
