Mountain Way Elementary outlines reading, math and social‑emotional goals in school improvement update

Mountain Way Elementary staff presented an in‑progress School Improvement Plan to the Granite Falls School District board on the evening the school hosted the meeting, describing targets and new classroom interventions intended to lift reading and math outcomes and strengthen social‑emotional supports.

Principal Dawn Muddle, who introduced the presentation, said, "we just loved having our kids come and that is the reason why we are all here, our children in this district." Her report summarized recent assessment results, staffing and the school’s planned actions for the year.

The nut graf: School leaders told the board they see steady but uneven early‑grade growth and are targeting both foundational skills and classroom talk. The school set measurable year‑over‑year goals for reading and math, added an on‑site reading specialist and a math specialist, and runs a short‑cycle intervention model called Win (What I Need) to provide focused small‑group instruction.

Mountain Way’s demographic and readiness snapshot included these items reported by school staff: the multilingual (English learner) population increased slightly (from 27 to 30 students), students with 504 plans declined (15 to 5), and students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) rose marginally (126 to 128), with 48 listed as "speech only." The school reported that 47% of last year’s kindergarten cohort were ready in all six state readiness domains while 12% were not ready in any domain; the principal said the state’s newest readiness report showed a roughly 4% increase in readiness overall.

Reading: Mountain Way uses I‑Ready diagnostics and a district curriculum (Amplify) aligned to the “science of reading.” The school set a reading growth goal it summarized as raising the percentage of students achieving typical annual growth from 51% to 61%, and stretch growth from 28% to 35%. Staff described a mix of diagnostics, classroom assessments and on‑site reading groups led by a reading specialist to support that target.

First‑ and second‑grade teachers described how Win cycles operate in practice. "I'm Liz Gramner. I teach 1st grade. We have 139 students, and . . . it's a half an hour a day, except for Wednesdays," Gramner told the board while explaining group sizes and schedules. Teachers reported giving pre‑ and post‑assessments for each cycle and seeing gains, particularly for smaller targeted groups.

Second‑grade teacher Kelsey Archer told the board that an initial second‑grade intervention cohort of 12 students had all advanced out of that lowest group, and staff reorganized groups for a second cycle: "We completely all 12 of those have now moved up," she said.

Math: The school reported a larger yellow (on‑track) band in math diagnostics and identified number sense, operations and algebraic thinking as areas of emphasis. Mountain Way added a math specialist position and uses math tasks and structured student talk as core practices. Staff said students attend a weekly math specialist class called Math Navigators and that the school is focused on building number sense and math discourse.

Social‑emotional learning and family engagement: Mountain Way uses the Second Step curriculum and set a fidelity goal of moving from 75% to 100% implementation. Staff reported a parent perception survey with 103 respondents; summaries reported that 99% of respondents said they know what their students are learning monthly and 95% reported their child feels safe at school, while the principal noted a small number of parents (about 5–6) indicated their child did not have a trusted adult at school.

Assessment practice and interpretation: Teachers and teaching‑and‑learning staff discussed how I‑Ready diagnostic bands (green/yellow/red) reflect timing and growth expectations, and emphasized that some students in red may still be making progress but not at the pace the mid‑year standard requires. Staff also noted testing conditions can affect scores and that that is why multiple measures (classroom assessments, diagnostic windows, and teacher observation) guide instruction.

Programs and family outreach: The school highlighted its preschool outreach program called Tiger Cubs, monthly family events, community service projects (students prepared cake kits for the food bank), and upcoming family nights (including a January 31 pajama/picture‑book event). Staff asked families to participate in booster and volunteer activities to support school culture.

What happens next: Mountain Way will continue Win cycles (each cycle is planned for roughly six to eight weeks when possible), implement on‑site specialist instruction, and use combined diagnostics to adjust groups. District staff said spring benchmarking and state assessments will provide additional progress information.

Votes at a glance: The board also conducted routine business during the same meeting. The board approved a package of policy readings and the consent agenda (see the actions array for each recorded motion and outcome). The board excused Director Gaffner from the meeting by unanimous voice vote and took a brief recess during the agenda.

Ending: School leaders told the board they view the current interventions and specialist positions as essential to accelerate growth and to make instruction more equitable. Staff asked the board for continued support for the intervention model and for opportunities to sustain on‑site specialists and family engagement programming.