Wagner Middle School identified for targeted support; plan focuses on attendance and math interventions

Wagner Middle School was identified this year under the state’s school accountability system as an Additional Targeted School for Improvement (ATSI) for chronic absenteeism and mathematics, Principal Pratt told the RSU 22 Board of Directors.

The designation means at least one student subgroup did not meet state targets in multiple indicators. Pratt said the school’s data showed a 15.9% chronic absenteeism rate and that mathematics achievement and growth were “emerging” (not meeting the state’s standard), while English language arts met the expected benchmark.

Pratt said the school’s improvement plan targets three priorities: attendance, math achievement and math growth. Attendance strategies include partnership meetings with a local attendance coach (referred to as “Capt Me In”), a tiered Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) approach, attendance “streaks” and unannounced rewards, family attendance meetings with mini-contracts, and a school van for targeted student pickup when transportation or bus conflicts are barriers. Pratt said schools that fully implement the attendance model they are using have, on average, decreased chronic absenteeism by about 23%.

To address math, Pratt described a tiered instructional model: universal classroom strategies (Tier 1), small-group interventions (Tier 2), and intensive pull-out services (Tier 3). She said the school increased Title I staffing this year from 0.5 to 1.5 full-time equivalent positions and proposed increasing to two full-time Title I positions next year to expand interventions. Pratt also said the school is restarting a Student Assistance Team (SAT) to bring cross‑staff perspectives to student interventions and cited building-level professional development—Building Thinking Classrooms and regulated-classroom strategies—as supporting both instruction and student belonging.

Pratt noted other district successes at Wagner: a gold at the state jazz festival, top placements in math league competitions, and engineering teams placing among 62 entrants in a windstorm design challenge. She said the school has a comprehensive needs assessment (CNA) that frames measurable action steps tied to the ATSI plan.

Board member Angela asked whether ATSI status brings additional Title I funding; Pratt and Superintendent staff responded that the ATSI designation is unfunded and the school must implement the plan without an automatic increase in state funds.

The presentation ended with Pratt saying the school’s attendance rate has recently run between 95% and 97% on many days after rolling out the engagement strategies, and she expressed confidence in the plan’s trajectory.

Questions from the board focused on funding limits, the role of community partners in attendance work, and how increased Title I staffing would be scheduled to reach identified students.