Richfield Middle School reports lower tardies, fewer suspensions and early academic gains

Richfield Middle School has seen measurable improvements in student attendance, behavior and early academic growth so far this school year, Principal Bridal Barlow told the Richfield School Board on Feb. 3.

The principal said the building recorded a year-over-year decrease in class tardies and partial absences between the first and second checkpoints, and that more students are arriving on time. “When you look at the scope of a school day … 9,000 is winning for us right now,” Barlow said, referring to the school’s tally of tardies and partial absences in the current year’s first half. She said the building’s share of students with zero tardies increased from about 81% in the first quarter to about 88% in the second quarter.

The improvements have coincided with stepped-up hallway supervision, daily family notifications about tardies, and a new “Back on Track” intervention for students with repeated weekly tardies, Barlow said. “Students do some, half a day to a full day in Back on Track, which is a time for them to kinda look at the data, reflect on it, and set some goals,” she said.

Why it matters: Board members pressed for detail because attendance and in-class time are closely tied to academic outcomes. Barlow and staff told the board those operational changes — rolling administrative desks on each floor, a supervisor rotation and targeted interventions — are intended to keep students in class and support instruction.

On behavior, the principal said student responses to a December climate survey improved: 59% of students agreed or strongly agreed that classmates demonstrated expected behavior, up from a 42% baseline the prior year. Suspension counts dropped from 30 and 33 in quarters 1 and 2 last year to 13 and 14 this year, respectively, Barlow said.

Melvin Willis, the school’s photography teacher, told the board that staff morale has risen and that students quickly picked up the changes. “The huge difference with the students actually showing up to class on time definitely does make the transition between the classes for us in the classroom a lot easier,” Willis said. He also described renewed interest in the student newspaper and other extracurriculars.

The student perspective came from seventh-grader Xavier Henke, who said he feels safer and more connected this year. “It feels safer. It feels like we are following the Spartan standard more, and we are every day moving to a better and safer school,” Henke said.

On academics, the principal and district staff reported preliminary FastBridge screening results. Barlow said 53% of students showed typical or aggressive growth on the FastBridge reading measure and 55% showed typical or aggressive growth in math; staff set end-of-year targets at roughly 73% for reading and 60% for math. She noted students placed in tiered small-group interventions showed higher rates of growth (63% in reading tier groups).

Staff also reported declines in course fail rates versus the prior year; district presenters attributed the drop to coordinated interventions, weekly advisory grade check-ins and data-driven small-group instruction. The school described a mix of supports including social workers, restorative practices, school-based mental-health partners and new mentorship efforts targeted at groups such as young men of color.

Board questions focused on details and sustainment: directors asked how long tardy tracking has been done (Barlow said last year’s data are available and the school is tracking trends back further), whether middle schoolers can earn credit recovery (district staff said middle-school students do not earn credits unless enrolled in high-school-level courses, but the district is discussing how to teach students the long-term consequences of failing classes), and how the newspaper, spirit weeks and recognition programs tie to student identity and attendance.

Background and next steps: Barlow said the middle school will continue weekly data reviews with staff, expand outreach for students who begin midyear, refine bullying/harassment reporting procedures, and carry out learning-walks and progress monitoring tied to FastBridge. Board members encouraged continued reporting on outcomes and asked staff to bring more historical comparisons and implementation notes to future updates.

Ending: Board Chair Eric Carter thanked the middle school team and students for the report and invited the school to return with further updates later in the year.