Gates Chili outlines districtwide push for stronger Tier 1 instruction, expanded teacher-leader roles

A Gates Chili Central School District staff member presented the district's annual curriculum and instruction update, outlining a districtwide emphasis on high-quality Tier 1 instruction, a restructure that expands teacher-leader roles, and new screening and data systems intended to make student progress more visible.

The presentation said the district has nearly 80 teacher leaders under a new structure, seven full-release K'–12 district leaders, expanded building-level released positions for literacy and math, and that the teacher leaders logged more than 1,000 hours of formal professional learning recorded in Frontline. The report linked those changes to student growth, saying K'–5 reading at or above benchmark rose 17 percent year to year and graduation rose 10 percent.

District staff said the 2025'–26 instructional focus centers on three priorities: clear learning targets with success criteria and timely feedback; engaging instruction that increases student talk and ownership; and data-informed scaffolds and differentiation. "High quality Tier 1 instruction goes beyond just simply putting something on the board," the staff member said, adding that teachers must ensure students understand "the what, the why, and the how of what they're learning." The presentation also stressed that MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Supports) remains the organizing framework for aligning instruction, interventions and social-emotional supports.

Staff described several changes intended to support those priorities. At the elementary level, the district said it has clarified expectations so students receive comparable Tier 1 instruction across the district's four elementary buildings. The district launched "jump start" small groups at the start of the year using end-of-year data to address summer slide, and expanded a daily "WIN" time for targeted enrichment, practice, or intervention separate from Tier 1 instruction. At middle and high school levels, the report said the district has implemented universal screeners (STAR reading and planned STAR math) for grades 9'–11 to produce Tier 1 data and expects departments to use common summative and formative assessments in each unit.

The district also described a pilot phase for equitable grading practices at the secondary level. The pilot will test changes such as limiting extra credit, offering structured reassessments for summative work, separating behavior infractions from academic grades, and establishing more consistent grading categories across departments. Staff said the pilot is year three of a multi-year effort and that participating teachers will share results this spring for potential districtwide adoption in 2026'27.

To centralize student information, the report said all K'–12 instructional staff now have access to a single data platform, Panorama, which will integrate grade reporting, behavior data, screening and assessment results, and social-emotional measures to support data-driven MTSS decisionmaking.

The presentation named several teacher-leader hires and role changes by first name and role: Lisa Young (director of PE, health and athletics), Matt Harvey and Wendy Taylor (instructional leaders), Jen Christiansen (K'5 literacy leader), Jen Russo (6'12 literacy leader), Brent Gillette (math lead), Kathy White (social studies lead), and Jen Osgood Whitelock (science). It also referenced literacy consultant Sarah McLendon and building-level literacy leads Lisa Dorphy and Sandy Train. The presenter said these leaders "work cohesively" to align vocabulary, engagement strategies, data and assessment across grades.

Asked about time for data analysis at the high school level, a board member asked whether departments have common planning time; staff said department time and planned secondary data days will allow teachers to meet and review results.

District staff framed the work as iterative: pilots and task-force action plans will be reviewed this year with recommendations for broader implementation in 2026'27 and continued alignment work into 2027'28. The presenter emphasized MTSS as a proactive, data-driven system that allows students to move between tiers as needs change.

The report included these quantifiable details: nearly 80 teacher leaders districtwide; seven full-release K'12 district leaders; more than 1,000 logged hours of formal professional learning; a 17 percent increase in K'5 students at or above benchmark in reading year-to-year; and a 10 percent increase in graduation (timeframe described as "from last year"). Some specifics were described at a program level (for example, nearly 100 students in a structured literacy Tier 2 reading class at grade 7), while other numeric details (such as exact baseline counts) were not specified.

District staff recommended continued focus on Tier 1 instruction, consistent assessment systems, expanded use of Panorama, and continued pilots of equitable grading practices as the primary next steps.