Bryant Elementary reports fewer behavior referrals, mixed progress on reading goals

Bryant Elementary staff told the Superior School District Board of Education on May 12 that schoolwide behavior referrals have fallen significantly this year after changes to recess supervision and staff roles, and that reading scores have improved in the lower grades though fourth- and fifth-grade results remain a concern.

The school’s counselor, Matt Kaszak, said the building had more than 400 referrals in prior years but “you can see the numbers are down significantly. So it’s super exciting for us.” He credited a restructured recess model with additional adult supervision and closer, in-the-moment problem solving.

Superintendent Amy (last name not specified in the transcript) introduced the Bryant presentation and framed its importance: “We restructured our PLCs where Jason and I meet with each grade level and we kind of hone in on what’s going on.” District staff described coordinated meetings among counselors, classroom teachers and special-education staff to track needs and match interventions.

Joel (role/title not specified in the transcript) presented FastBridge and AIMSweb assessment data and said the district’s spring goal was for 83% of K–5 students to meet the FastBridge low‑risk reading benchmark. Joel reported that spring-window reporting was incomplete at the time of the presentation and that current, partial FastBridge results showed 74% meeting the benchmark; kindergarten and first grade—the only grades with complete spring data at that time—were at roughly 82–85%.

Staff described targeted early-intervention work: after AIMSweb screening in winter, 42 students were flagged and 37 were placed on personal reading plans; in spring, 33 were flagged and the school exited 8 students from plans. Kelly Jobin, the school’s K–5 interventionist, said those diagnostics and targeted interventions drove some of the gains in early grades.

Attendance and chronic absence were also discussed. Staff cited the state’s chronic‑absence threshold—greater than 16 absences—and reported a three‑year decline in chronically absent students from 15 to 12 to 10. The staff described proactive outreach—teacher postcards and weekly truancy meetings with the secretary—to encourage attendance.

The board and staff discussed wraparound services. Staff said Lake Superior Community Health Center provides on‑site therapy at Bryant once a week and that the center will continue services into the summer. The presenters also noted ongoing work with county partners to assist students identified under McKinney‑Vento (homelessness) and other housing‑related needs.

The presentation closed with board members and staff emphasizing continued focus on math as the next building priority and the district’s intent to report updated, complete spring assessment data when available.

Bryant staff delivered the update as an informational item; no formal board action was taken on the academic or behavioral data at the May 12 meeting.