Principals report low SBA scores, rising graduation rates and targeted interventions across Tumwater schools

Principals and program leaders presented data and improvement plans for several Tumwater School District schools at the May 2025 board meeting, citing below-target student performance on the state Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA) in math and continued work to raise pass rates and graduation outcomes.

David Myers, principal of Black Hills High School, told the board that overall math performance was "below 50%" and that the school was not performing at an acceptable rate on SBA results in math and science. Myers described instructional steps his staff are taking, including professional learning communities (PLCs) to align formative and summative assessments to state standards, departmental calibration of grading, a ninth-grade success team, and targeted intervention Fridays he called "Lift days." He said the district also started a Saturday tutoring program, which the school calls "Saturday Academy," and has banned cell phones in classrooms; Myers reported a rise in student engagement with those changes.

"What are we doing about it? That's the key," Myers said, summarizing the school's emphasis on aligned assessments, intervention structures and monitoring.

Cascadia High School (alternate learning program) leaders reported sizeable improvements in graduation rates tied to grant-funded work and intensive student supports. John Caskey (title reported as a school leader at Cascadia in the transcript) said the school received an OSSI grant aimed at improving graduation outcomes and had set academic and social-emotional goals tied to monthly progress reviews and Panorama survey data. The principal reported that Cascadia's four‑year graduation rate rose from 62.5% (previous year) to 83.5% this year and that other cohort measures showed improvement. He attributed gains to personalized learning, a robust student-support team, wraparound counseling and staff training paid for in part by grant funds.

Other details and district context: speakers described efforts to standardize grading across teachers (calibration exercises), to replace a formerly punitive Saturday designation with a voluntary Saturday Academy for tutoring, and to run focused study sessions in the school day. One principal said the district is using an MDLC grant to move toward standards-based grading in some areas. A presenter said dual-credit and Running Start options remain important pathways for college credit and student retention.

Enrollment and finance notes presented to the board included a small drop in re-enrollment figures (reported as down 12 K–12 and down 21 districtwide from April to May) and an April ending fund balance reported at 9.3% (district figure as presented). The district also reported capital-project receipts and an upcoming May payment that the superintendent said should complete some year-to-date revenue collections.

Discussion vs. decision: these presentations were reports to the board; no formal policy votes or programmatic changes were recorded in the available excerpt. Board members asked questions about grading calibration and capacity to scale alternate-program successes, and principals answered with examples of staffing and grant-supported practices.

Ending: principals asked the board to sustain support for intervention time, professional development and grant-funded services; board members praised Cascadia's graduation gains and emphasized continued attention to scaling successful practices districtwide.