Winship Elementary staff outline gains in language, attendance and behavior supports

Winship Elementary staff presented school-level performance data and program changes to the Grand Forks School Board during the board’s Jan. 13 meeting, highlighting gains in multilingual student growth, improved attendance and new social-emotional and behavioral supports.

The Winship team told the board the school serves about 211 students with 36 certified and 22 classified staff, and that roughly 37% of students are multilingual learners (78 students). Principal Travis Thorvaldson said the school’s low-income rate is “almost 70%” and that students with individualized education programs make up about 17.6% of enrollment.

Why it matters: Winship’s student population is heavily multilingual and low-income compared with other district elementary schools. Presenters said that demographic mix affects instructional priorities, testing interpretation and family outreach, and that the school’s approaches aim to keep students in classrooms while tailoring supports.

Teachers and specialists described instructional practices and goals. Literacy specialists Cassidy Bena and Kristen Vernier said Winship set a growth target to reach 46% proficiency in ELA by 2028 and that teachers are using a common district curriculum with targeted small-group instruction (TSGI). Bena said the school’s team established an annual growth goal of an 8 percentage-point increase in proficiency and that recent internal measures show steady growth; the presenters noted the school’s third-, fourth- and fifth-grade trend data and use of STAR assessments as a predictor for the state NDSA tests.

On math, Stephanie Krueger, the math collaboration teacher, described a co-teaching model in grades 2–5, weekly planning with teachers, renewed attention to vertical alignment and use of Title funds to purchase manipulatives and fact‑fluency platforms. Krueger said Winship’s math proficiency target for 2028 is 38% as measured by the district’s NDSA-plus framework, and that STAR scores are used for progress monitoring ahead of state testing.

Attendance and family outreach were a repeated focus. School social worker Logan Castle and the attendance team said Winship conducts annual home visits and provides direct family supports (food pantry access, winter gear and translation assistance) to improve chronic absenteeism. The school reported a drop in chronically absent students from about 45 of roughly 215 students last year to 24 this year; staff attributed part of the change to daily presence of the social worker and to targeted outreach for families with limited English proficiency.

Behavior supports and SEL: The school described a PBIS (positive behavioral interventions and supports) program and a Multi-Tiered System of Supports for Behavior (MTSS-B). Megan Baker, who works on SEL and PBIS, said Winship adopted a behavior matrix and an intervention flow chart intended to reduce office referrals 50% by teaching consistent expectations, reinforcing “ROAR” behaviors (Respectful actions; Only safe behaviors; Always do your best; Responsible choices) and distributing recognition postcards to students. Macy Strem, a special education strategist, described tiered interventions including a check-in/check-out mentor system, a responder schedule for de-escalation support, and team referrals documented in Panorama.

Community partnerships and library services: Betsy McIntyre, the library media specialist, listed community partners — including the public library, local food pantry and therapy providers — and noted a recent district foundation grant that allowed all students to tour the Grand Forks Public Library and led to an expansion of Spanish-language titles in the library collection.

Board engagement and questions: Board members asked about midyear student enrollment shifts, how the Wit & Wisdom curriculum is being piloted for multilingual students, how family‑teacher conferences handle language barriers and what additional resources the school still needs. Thorvaldson and staff credited close collaboration among classroom teachers, ML (multilingual) teachers, specialists and building leaders for the school’s gains and noted plans for continued safety, security and facility improvements in an upcoming phase of work.

Thorvaldson closed by thanking staff and families for daily work and partnerships; board members praised the presentations and noted community events that will showcase Winship students.

Ending: The presentation did not result in a board action; it served as an informational update to the board on Winship Elementary’s demographics, instructional goals, attendance improvements and behavior supports.