District reports modest academic gains, equity gaps; middle school cohort shows strongest improvement

District staff gave an update on the Equity Progress Indicator (EPI) and strategic‑plan metrics, reporting progress in middle grades, declines in high‑level behavior incidents districtwide and mixed academic growth in early grades.

The presentation covered three broad areas: learning conditions, student learning and a new set of early‑childhood assessments at JEH. Presenters said districtwide attendance is close to the district target, behavioral incidents at higher intensity (level 3–5) have declined over three years, and a cohort of eighth‑grade students showed measurable gains in math percentile ranking from 56 to 67 over two years.

Staff reported the district’s attendance goal is 95 percent and said current district attendance is 93.8 percent, slightly improved from the prior year. The district is tracking behavior intensity and suspension rates; presenters reported the district suspension rate as “below 2 percent,” noting a current figure of 0.01 percent in the winter snapshot presented to the board. Staff also said the total number of students with individualized education plans (IEPs) decreased from roughly 1,600 to about 1,000 over a recent period and that…