New Britain reports early-grade reading gains, fewer office referrals; chronic absenteeism remains a concern

New Britain School District leaders presented a year-over-year rise in early-grade reading scores and a drop in office referrals at the board—s May 5 regular meeting, while warning that chronic absenteeism and some middle-school results still require attention.

Superintendent Dr. Gaspar told the board that the presentations and data represent collective work across the district: "It's not a thing. It's not, by chance. It's lots of people making really, really hard decisions over and over and over again." He framed the reported improvements as "green shoots" after three years of targeted initiatives.

District assessment data shown by administrator Miss Velasquez indicated upward trends on several internal measures used to track early literacy. Velasquez said the district—s IRLA/IRRRLA runs regular one-on-one assessments and reported proficiency climbing from roughly 34% to about 44% in the first two years of the program—s administration, and a 13 percentage-point reduction in students at the lowest "emergency" reading level. "We are headed in the right direction," she said.

Velasquez also reported gains on DIBELS (phonics/skill-based literacy checks) across K—6 and on a Spanish literacy measure tied to the district—s reviving of its dual-language program; by second grade students who began in kindergarten are recorded at 61% proficiency in the Spanish assessment. She cautioned that some cohorts show variability: "Any thoughts on the kindergarten 24, 20 5 drop?" a board member asked; Velasquez responded that the cohort differences are under investigation.

At the secondary level, preliminary state-test data for high school were described as slightly improved but "not anywhere where we want to be," and the district noted that official state releases for 3— test results typically arrive in late August or early September. Board members asked about SAT scoring and averages; administrators said percent-level summaries were included in the presentation and that average scale scores can be compared to state and national results.

The presentation highlighted nonacademic indicators as well. Jefferson Elementary—s principal, Dr. Chanel Lewis, spotlighted her school's progress: she reported that Jefferson reduced students in the emergency reading category and grew the number proficient to "slightly over 50%" (presented as 52.3%). She also said office referrals at Jefferson fell substantially compared with the prior year—s monthly peaks, and attributed part of the improvement to a social worker hired in November 2024 and to social-emotional learning practices.

Districtwide, leaders reported a decline in average teacher absences and an overall drop in chronic absenteeism, though the superintendent said chronic absence remains above the district goal: overall chronic absenteeism was reported at 32.9% with a target to get below 30%. Officials emphasized that chronic absenteeism is concentrated in a smaller group of students and that average daily attendance (ADA) remains over 90% in many schools.

Administrators also described efforts on staffing and diversity: teachers of color in the district are 22.7% of staff versus a stated state comparison of 12%. The presentation noted growth in students earning college credit from high-school courses and estimated a minimum of a quarter-million dollars in potential savings to families if students each earned one college credit.

Board business that followed included routine approvals: the minutes from the April 7 meeting, personnel transactions and extracurricular appointments, a summer enrichment contract, and the consent agenda were all approved by voice vote. The contract to provide enrichment during the summer program was moved, seconded and approved; the record indicates there were two abstentions for that vote. The enrollment report presented to the board showed a modest districtwide uptick in enrollment and New Britain High School enrollment stabilizing just under 2,500 students.

Administrators and school leaders said the district will continue to monitor cohort-level assessment variability, middle-school transitions (where some grades did not show the same gains), and chronic absenteeism while maintaining investments in early literacy and family engagement.