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Danbury primary school reports reading gains, sets 15% proficiency and 8% absenteeism goals
Summary
At a Danbury Board of Education meeting, a primary-school principal described gains in early-grade reading and set targets to boost third-grade proficiency and cut chronic absenteeism, outlining curriculum, intervention and family-engagement strategies.
At a meeting of the Danbury Board of Education, a principal from a Danbury primary school presented data showing gains in early-grade reading and outlined two schoolwide targets for the year: raise reading proficiency at least 15% and reduce chronic absenteeism to 8% or lower.
The principal said the school’s motto is “every student, every day,” and reported a gain in third-grade reading proficiency from 26% to 40% last year, a 14-percentage-point increase. The principal also reported that last year 70% of kindergarteners, about 60% of first graders and nearly 60% of second graders left their grade level proficient, trends the school expects to see translate into higher third-grade proficiency in coming years.
The presentation described several strategies supporting the targets: a new core curriculum, expanded teacher collaboration time, explicit phonics instruction, creative scheduling to increase intervention time, and targeted family outreach. The principal said the school runs an attendance team that meets individually with families to address barriers and that the school uses celebrations and surprise events to encourage regular attendance.
On chronic absenteeism the principal said 12% of the school’s students were chronically absent last year and emphasized that attendance is necessary for learning the curriculum and for students’ sense of belonging.
The principal framed the school’s approach as “whole child” work, combining academics with social-emotional learning and a Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) framework that sets common expectations and recognizes students and staff for demonstrating values such as respect, responsibility, kindness, hard work and safety. The principal closed the presentation with a quotation commonly attributed to educator Rita Pierson: “Every child deserves a champion, an adult who will never give up on them.”
In a brief question-and-answer period, a board member asked how long the principal had served; the principal said five years. Board members praised the school’s staff engagement and the presentation.
