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District reports post‑COVID stall in ninth‑grade on‑track rates; students recommend event safety and supports
Summary
Superintendent Michelle Whitney reported that ninth‑grade on‑track rates rose pre‑COVID to about 83% but have since slipped to the low 70s; the Student Action Council recommended added event security, reporting tools and healing supports after a recent athletic incident, and staff described STAR assessments and early‑warning interventions.
Superintendent Michelle Whitney presented the board with the district’s progress-monitoring report focused on ninth‑grade on‑track status, an indicator the district uses to predict graduation outcomes. Whitney said the district’s ninth‑grade on‑track rate rose from 46% in 2016 to nearly 83% pre‑pandemic and has since softened to roughly the low 70% range in recent cohorts.
Whitney said the district uses a combination of core-instruction fidelity, benchmark assessments and an early-warning system to identify ninth graders at risk of falling off track. At the high school level the district has begun using the STAR benchmark assessment; staff said teachers use STAR at the high school, middle and elementary levels to inform professional learning teams and to target interventions during EI and Hawk Time. Staff also described in‑semester individual plans, weekly grade-level team reviews and credit-recovery options (after‑school tutoring, extended trimester credit recovery and Saturday school) that are in place to support students.
Student representatives and members of the Superintendent’s Student Action Council reported on a February meeting where students split into school groups to exchange ideas. The council prioritized several steps following a February athletic incident: adding security and best practices at sporting events, clearer communication of attendee expectations, using the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) reporting tool for incidents involving visitors from other districts, and targeted supports for affected students. Students described the meeting tone as “heavy” but focused on healing and constructive suggestions; the superintendent said the district has engaged a third party to support healing work and continues internal efforts.
Board members and student representatives discussed possible contributors to the trimester decline in passing rates—staff and students cited springtime absences, travel and chronic attendance issues as likely factors—and stressed the importance of improving attendance and strengthening the eighth-to-ninth-grade transition. Whitney said staff will explore vertical alignment between middle and high schools to identify students needing support before ninth grade and will report back with more analysis, including correlations between attendance and failure rates.
Ending: The district will continue to expand STAR usage at the high school level, strengthen early-warning/vertical alignment strategies and return with more data on attendance correlations and the effects of targeted interventions.
