Orting elementary students perform as school staff outline improvement goals, literacy gains

At a school presentation hosted by the Orting School District that began at 6 p.m., third-grade students performed “Lean on Me,” and school staff described a school improvement plan focused on professional learning communities, family engagement, social-emotional learning and early-grade reading interventions.

School leaders said the work aims to boost academic outcomes and student connection. Principal-level staff and teachers outlined three broad goals: raise academic performance through coordinated team planning, increase two-way family communication, and strengthen student self-efficacy. Staff also described a pilot of the UFLI phonics curriculum in second grade and shared recent local assessment results they said show progress.

Teachers and school specialists presented the improvement work in front of families and board members. Jason Garcia, identified in the presentation as the school music teacher, introduced the student performance and described the song’s theme: "It's a song about empathy, kindness and friendship." Administrators…