Cedar Springs reports midyear gains in reading, math and behavior; leaders say work continues

Cedar Springs Public Schools administrators presented midyear student data to the board on Feb. 24, saying early-literacy, math screening and behavior-referral measures have improved since the start of the school year but that attendance and several persistent challenges will require continued focus.

Kristen Albert, the district’s grants and continuous improvement specialist, told the board that preschool through fifth-grade early-literacy and early-math indicators — including Acadience and I-Ready measures — are “trending in the right direction.” She credited teachers’ targeted instruction on phonological awareness, alphabetic knowledge and oral language for much of the movement.

The presentation’s nut graf: the district reported reductions in the share of students in the lowest performance bands across multiple grade bands and subjects, and administrators said next steps include continuing targeted intervention time (the district’s “WIN” time), scaling interventionist placements and aligning instruction across buildings.

Elementary leaders gave specifics. Sam Becker, speaking for Cedar View, said the district has reduced office-managed referrals per day after increasing proactive classroom supports and using PBIS interventionists to build teacher ownership of behavior plans. “We were trending down with different ways and how we utilize our behavior teams,” Becker said.

Elementary math and reading presenters described declines in the number of students scoring in the lowest bands on the universal number screener and I-Ready. The district reported that 60% or more of students in grades 1–5 were on track to make expected annual growth on midyear I‑Ready math measures, and that kindergarten through third-grade Acadience reading results showed 83–87% of students maintaining at-or-above-benchmark for the midyear period.

Middle-school staff said growth at grades 6–8 is smaller but moving in the right direction. A middle-school math presenter described new course arrangements for next year, including an additional targeted math class intended to give general-education students extra direct instruction to close gaps. The middle-school team also noted efforts such as co-taught classes and learning-lab sections to provide more instruction time for students who need it.

High-school principal Clarence McCoy outlined three pillars of work he said are driving improved behavior and referrals at the secondary level: an “every student known” initiative intended to ensure every student has at least one trusted adult in the building; pedagogical growth through teacher shadowing and peer-led professional development; and a champions/restorative-practices approach to reduce out-of-school suspensions and keep students engaged in learning. “Our goal is to have all 1,100 of our kids have an authentic relationship with at least one professional in this building,” McCoy said.

Administrators described the district’s threat-assessment and multidisciplinary response protocols for high-school incidents and noted that the work of those teams makes it difficult to quantify every prevented incident, but contributes to safety and reduced major referrals.

Board members asked about several operational details: the number of interventionists at each building (presenters said Trails and Beach have six academic interventionists; Cedar View has four), how the middle-of-year screener differs from the beginning-of-year administration (middle-year screeners add written components and multi-step problems), and whether intervention resources are stretched thin (presenters said the district is using 95 Percent Group and other kits and that interventionists have been a “blessing” in buildings).

Administrators cautioned that midyear graphs sometimes show declines because of timing — when an item on a screener tests content not yet taught — and said they check item-level data to avoid misinterpreting the results.

On attendance, middle-school leaders reported that about 81% of students are at the district benchmark of 90% or better attendance for the school year; high school attendance was lower and described as a continuing focus. Board members and staff discussed how attendance interacts with graduation and postsecondary readiness goals.

The meeting closed the data portion with administrators urging continued emphasis on interventions, aligned practices across buildings and parent engagement to sustain growth through the remainder of the year.