Lee County Schools buys Branching Minds after midyear data review; Math I and transitional grades targeted

The Lee County Board of Education approved a contract for the Branching Minds student-data and MTSS platform after district staff presented a midyear assessment update showing areas that need targeted support.

The contract, described at the meeting as about $79,000, was approved by voice vote after a motion from a board member. The district said the platform will centralize multiple data sources, automate tiered-risk flags and provide a vetted interventions library to guide school-based responses.

District accountability staff presented midyear benchmarks before the contract discussion. Stephanie Clark, an accountability staff member, summarized kindergarten-through-third-grade DIBELS results, saying kindergarten was at 53% and first and second grades were at 59% at middle-of-year checks; third grade was at 53% and showed a noted backslide from the beginning of year. Clark also walked the board through NC Check-Ins and end-of-course data: district figures presented included English II at 46.1% proficiency, Math I at 14.7% and Math III at 63.7%. Clark said district science check-ins showed 65.5% at both fifth and eighth grades.

Dr. Natalie Kelly, a district staff member who detailed next steps, said Math I was a clear focus: "Math 1 is the area that we know needs some improvement. So we've already started on that." She described instructional rounds, PLC support, substitute coverage to allow teacher observations, and curriculum-modeling support by curriculum specialists to address student needs.

When staff described Branching Minds, the presenter said the platform's goal is to reduce the time teachers and leaders spend assembling and interpreting data: "The idea and the sole mission of Branching Minds is to reduce time and effort that is spent by staff to improve outcomes for our students." Staff showed dashboards that consolidate attendance, behavior and assessment data; district-level tier reports; cohort and progress-monitoring charts; and an interventions library that can be matched to students.

Board discussion emphasized implementation and usage. One board member said the tool could help remove subjective impressions from improvement work by producing consistent, comparable data across schools. The board approved the contract by voice vote without a recorded roll-call tally.

District staff said the contract will be funded from a curriculum materials fund the district had freed up by consolidating unused materials; they told the board that savings exceeded the purchase price and could sustain the platform.

Implementation will be led by district curriculum and accountability staff, who said most data would be synced automatically or uploaded centrally rather than entered manually by classroom teachers. The district said it will monitor usage and outcomes once the platform is live.

Board members and staff said they will report back with follow-up data after the next round of state check-ins in March.