Windsor Unified proposes classroom support model for Maddie Washburn after low screening results; teachers and parents push back

Windsor Unified Superintendent Decker told the Board of Trustees on Feb. 20 that the district will expand site-based classroom supports at Maddie Washburn Elementary to keep struggling students in general education classrooms and provide more targeted interventions there.

The move follows the district’s winter Renaissance (STAR/RenStar) screening and YouthTruth survey data, which Decker said show reading and math gaps in early grades and localized concerns at Maddie Washburn. Decker told the board the district will hire a site-specific instructional coach for Maddie Washburn and increase the number of classroom instructional aides, shifting aide time so first- and second-grade classrooms receive roughly 5½ hours of daily instructional-aide support. Decker said the changes are intended to reduce the adult-to-student ratio in group interventions and allow “centers” and small-group instruction to happen inside the classroom rather than pulling students out.

Why it matters: district officials said keeping students in the regular classroom for core instruction reduces stigma and improves access to grade‑level teaching. Parents and teachers at the meeting said leadership and resources — not individual teachers — are the main issue.

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