Principals report test-score gains at Dickinson Middle; district expands tier 2, newcomer supports

Principals from Dickinson schools told the school board the district has seen measurable growth this year in several grade levels and across multiple student groups, and they outlined instructional changes intended to sustain that progress.

At Dickinson Middle School, presenters said growth occurred across sixth, seventh and eighth grades, with notable increases among students with disabilities and English learners. The principals reported the eighth-grade students with disabilities subgroup rose from 16 percent to 39 percent, and they cited large gains in the limited-English population in some grades (for example, a reported increase from 22 percent to 46 percent in a middle-grade subgroup). Principals credited daily "tier 2" instructional time — scheduled reteach or targeted intervention periods built into the school day — as a major factor in the improvements.

Principals said tier 2 is now implemented daily in buildings and has become an embedded practice teachers use to pull small groups for reteach or extension. They also described tier 3 work for more intensive interventions and said the math department is refining standards-based reference grading and intervention targets. Leaders said stronger data tracking and standard-aligned intervention work has helped identify gaps back to earlier grades.

At the elementary level, principals said overall results were more uneven but generally steady. They noted particular concern about the district's fourth-grade cohort, which includes students who were in kindergarten or first grade during the COVID years and who may need targeted skill backfilling. Principals described plans to maintain continuity of instructional resources across grades, provide targeted professional development and continue work to support English learners.

The board asked whether the changes could be tied directly to the gains; principals said it is too early to draw firm causal conclusions. They noted the district uses different end-of-year assessments (the NDA+ in some grades) and that state assessment results will not be available until later in the year, which delays definitive comparisons to prior state proficiency measures. The principals said they will continue monitoring results and described a planned Eureka Math classroom-visit professional development activity this spring to support instructional leadership.

Principals also described a newcomer program started this year that provides an intensive, roughly six-week cycle of English instruction for newly arrived students before moving them to full core classes. The newcomer program was described as a new or expanded effort this year led by staff including Casey Evans.

Board members thanked principals for the report and asked for continued updates as fall cohorts and state-assessment results become available.