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Principal reports enrollment of 110 and strong midyear gains on i-Ready assessments
Summary
Principal Brandon French reported total enrollment of 110 students across kindergarten–fifth grade and presented winter i-Ready results showing growth: reading-level red students fell from 14% (fall) to 6% (winter); math red students fell from 7% to 1%. Board discussed interventions and special-education rates.
East Kingston School District Principal Brandon French told the board the school’s current enrollment is 110 students and summarized winter i-Ready assessment results showing marked midyear growth.
Brandon reported enrollment by grade as 15 kindergarten, 18 first grade, 24 second grade, 20 third grade, 11 fourth grade and 22 fifth grade for a total of 110 students. He described the assessment data as criterion-referenced (compared to a standard cut score) and said the winter i-Ready checks student progress from fall to midyear.
On reading, Brandon said the share of students not meeting grade-level expectations decreased: "In the fall we had 14% of our students that were not there at that time. We had definitely cut that down in reading in the red, which is 3 or more grade levels behind, to 6% of our students are now, in the red." On math, he reported an even larger reduction: "7% of our students were not ready for grade level learning in the fall, now it is down to 1%." Board members praised teachers’ PLC (professional learning community) work, the district’s math interventionist and tiered interventions as drivers of the gains.
Board members asked about supports for students who remain well below grade level. Brandon and board members described individualized progress-monitoring, IEP consultation and frequent grade-level review as the primary strategies; the district’s interventionist also pulls extension groups for students above grade level. The board discussed the importance of drilling down on progress for students who remain in the red to measure individual growth even if they have not yet exited the red category.
On special education, Brandon said East Kingston’s special-education rate is a little above the state average: New Hampshire’s rate was cited at about 17.58 percent and East Kingston’s rate was reported around 19–20 percent, but staff noted one student can materially change percentage calculations in a small school. Brandon said the district’s count of students with IEPs includes preschool-aged students and students placed in charter schools for whom the district retains responsibility.
The board also discussed screen-time and cell-phone practices. Brandon said students who bring phones keep them in their bags; Apple Watches are permitted for watch functions only, and parents must retrieve phones if they are used inappropriately. No policy change was voted on at this meeting.
The board did not take formal action on the assessment results; staff will continue winter-to-spring monitoring and report additional fall-to-spring growth at a future meeting.
