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District reports literacy gains, flags math as priority in presentation to school board
Summary
Associate Superintendent Courtney Griffiths told the Elyria City School Board that reading and some high-school measures improved, the district won state recognition for several elementary schools' implementation of the science of reading, but math remains an area of focus and the district plans curriculum updates and targeted interventions.
Courtney Griffiths, associate superintendent of academic services, briefed the Elyria City School Board on Oct. 1 about district academic data beyond the state report card and outlined next steps on literacy and math.
"Green is good," Griffiths said, summarizing a growth graphic that showed expected or above-expected gains in English language arts for grades 4 through 8 and notable growth in several high-school courses, including biology, American government and American history.
Griffiths highlighted a near 12 percentage-point increase (11.9%) in the district's college, career, workforce and military readiness component from 2024 to 2025 and noted that roughly 20% of the district's class of 2024 earned 12 or more industry credentials and about 20% earned at least 12 dual-enrollment college credits, figures she attributed to partnerships with Lorain County career-technical programs and college-credit providers.
Reading results showed districtwide gains on DIBELS benchmarking and the Amplify ELA curriculum cohort: third graders who have followed the curriculum since kindergarten showed an 11% decrease in students classified as "below" or "well below" benchmark and an 11% increase in those at or above benchmark from beginning- to end-of-year measures, Griffiths said. She noted the district had five elementary schools recognized with the governor's "Science of Reading Champion" award for implementation and growth.
Griffiths said math remains the primary academic focus: district progress-monitoring math testing shows many grade levels below the target diamond, and the district has begun adopting new K-4 math curriculum materials and instituted a double-block Algebra I course at the high school for students identified at risk.
She also cited chronic absenteeism at about 33% districtwide, compared with a state benchmark near 16%, and described work on an integrated MTSS (multi-tiered systems of support) to align instruction, behavior interventions and attendance strategies. Griffiths said the district will continue professional learning (including LETRS and phonics training) and targeted interventions for students with disabilities and English learners.
At the end of the presentation, trustees thanked Griffiths for the data. No policy vote accompanied the presentation; the material was informational and part of the district's regular academic oversight.
The board did not take formal action on curriculum adoption during the Oct. 1 meeting; Griffiths said curriculum-selection decisions for K-4 math are expected later in the school year after a selection process.
