Tolman Elementary credits coaching, data dives and schedule changes for sharp test-score gains

Tolman Elementary Principal Megan Fairborn told the Davis County School District board on Jan. 21 that the school’s lowest‑performing quarter and several other student groups posted double‑digit gains after two years of focused interventions.

Fairborn said the school’s mission — that “the Tolman community ensures all students belong while learning at high levels” — guided choices about coaching, master scheduling and student supports. She introduced teachers and staff who described specific strategies they said drove improvement.

Fairborn and staff described multiple concrete practices the school used. Jody Andre, Tolman’s literacy coach, said weekly grade‑level professional learning communities (PLCs) now include a rotating presence from special‑education staff, counselors and administrators, “not to facilitate, but to support,” and that the school performs regular data dives around benchmark windows. Andre said coaches use Jim Knight’s impact‑cycle model for coaching and that individualized coaching cycles were completed with every teacher last year and are planned again this year.

Kindergarten teacher Nicole Crandall described a classroom “ABC crown” program that sets one nonnegotiable, grade‑level skill and publicly celebrates students when they demonstrate mastery. Special‑education teacher Bree Lopez said the school increased dedicated special‑education instruction from 30 minutes four times a week to 45 minutes five times a week and used trust‑fund money to hire an additional aide, allowing smaller intervention groups. Counselor Emily Sullivan said adding a full‑time counselor, funded in part with TSSA money, and a student “hope squad” and house system helped reduce absenteeism and improved student belonging.

Administrative intern Adam Jensen and others summarized assessment results Fairborn presented: Tolman’s lowest‑performing 25% increased by 13.9 percentage points (to 57.4% on RISE growth measures) from 2023 to 2024; RISE ELA scores rose about 13.1%; district reading proficiency across K–6 rose roughly 9% from 2022 to 2024; RISE ELA for low‑income students rose about 17.8% since 2022; Acuity (math) for low‑income students increased about 18.2% (from 36% to 54% year to year); and multilingual learners’ Acuity math scores rose roughly 41.7% from 2023 to 2024. Fairborn and staff attributed gains to targeted interventions, expanded intervention time and consistent data review.

The staff emphasized a mix of instructional and social‑emotional supports rather than a single change. Fairborn said the presentation was intended to recognize staff and families; she provided small tokens of appreciation and asked that the board acknowledge the team’s work.

The school’s principal and staff fielded brief board praise following the presentation.