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Roosevelt McGrath Elementary reports attendance gains, NWEA progress and wide extracurricular offerings
Summary
Principal Mark Watson told the board Roosevelt McGrath has 452 students, a 90% average daily attendance rate up from 85% in December, NWEA winter scores at 34% in reading and 41% in math, and an adaptive PE pool used as a classroom for special education.
Roosevelt McGrath Elementary School principal Mark Watson presented a school update to the Wayne-Westland Community Schools board Feb. 24, citing gains in attendance, academic progress on NWEA winter assessments and a range of student supports and activities.
Watson said the school serves 452 students, including 30 students receiving special education services and 10 multilingual learners. He told trustees the school’s average daily attendance rose from 85% in December 2024 to 90% in February 2025.
“Our average daily attendance rate, as of today, is 90%,” Watson said during the presentation. He described a set of incentives — Roadrunner Bucks and a school store — that the school uses to encourage attendance and punctuality.
On academic measures Watson presented winter NWEA results showing 34% of students meeting the reading benchmark and 41% meeting the math benchmark. He said the district uses NWEA’s national norms and three testing windows (fall, winter and spring) to track growth and set classroom goals, and that teachers and students use goal-setting and classroom scoreboards to drive improvement toward spring targets.
Watson also described nonacademic programming: an adaptive physical-education program that uses the school’s pool as a classroom for self-contained classrooms; student leadership teams; field trips such as visits to the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum and zoo; and family and community partnerships that provide food, coats and vision screenings. He said a recent “vision van” screened 127 students and provided 63 students with free glasses.
When asked whether the pool is used as a classroom, Watson said it is: “It it is a classroom. Yep. It's adaptive P for our students...the teacher and 2 of the pairs are trained to be in the pool.” He confirmed the parent coordinator role is paid with Title funds and serves as a liaison for families with questions or needs.
Board members asked about federal Department of Education policy changes and how they might affect programs; Watson said district staff monitor federal updates and would return with additional information if changes were required. Trustees also asked how the school communicates assessment data to families; Watson said parent conferences, PTO meetings and occasional data nights are used, and he acknowledged the district could share more frequent data updates.
Watson closed by describing school culture efforts such as PBIS expectations (be safe, be responsible, be respectful), morning greetings, and incentives like principals-for-a-day earned through Roadrunner Bucks. The presentation ran through examples of student events, staff accolades and community supports that school leaders said help drive attendance and growth.
