Webster Groves presents building-level improvement plans, rolls out EduCLIMBER; principals highlight literacy gaps, accessibility and grading reform

The Webster Groves School District presented a new round of building-level school improvement plans and described an EduCLIMBER data-management rollout intended to unify assessment and intervention information across schools. Principals from Avery Elementary and Webster Groves High School outlined school-specific goals for academics, culture and accessibility.

District leaders said EduCLIMBER will integrate MAP testing, Panorama surveys and other data to enable systems-level analysis of interventions and indicators. A district representative said families will have access to their students’ data, but parents "won't have access to EduCLIMBER" itself; access to discipline histories will be limited by role so classroom teachers do not automatically see full discipline files while counselors and student-support teams can view records as needed for systemic interventions.

At Avery Elementary, Dr. Hannah Peterson described three building goals — an academic goal tied to collaborative learning teams (CLTs), a climate-and-culture goal, and an accessibility goal. Peterson provided school demographics (324 students; 13% with IEPs; 3.7% free or reduced-price lunch) and racial/ethnic breakdown (about 85% white, 3% Black, 4% Hispanic, 2% Asian, 6% multiracial). She cited MAP results from two years prior showing wide gaps by student group: for third through fifth grade ELA, roughly 82.5% of students not on free/reduced lunch were advanced or proficient while 40% of students on free/reduced lunch were advanced or proficient (a 42.5 percentage-point difference). In math the gap was similar: about 77.7% (not on free/reduced) versus 33.4% (on free/reduced), a 44.3-point difference. Peterson said the building’s metric for the year was that 80% of students in targeted student groups meet their I-Ready growth targets; she also said Avery is the only district school not fully accessible and described work with architects and engineers on a plan that could deliver accessibility improvements by August 2026 and add parking closer to the gym.

Webster Groves High School Principal Dr. Tony Grignani framed the high school’s plan as a multi-year effort focused on student belonging, instruction and expanded access to rigorous coursework. He cited a 2024–25 average ACT of 15 for the district’s Black students and set a multi-year target to raise that average to 19 by the 2029–30 school year. Grignani said 63% of Black students in 2024–25 had received at least one disciplinary referral; the school aims to reduce that to under 50% by the 2026–27 school year through restorative-practices training (PD dates noted on the district calendar for Nov. 4 and Feb. 13), increased use of restorative resolutions on referrals and efforts to reduce out-of-class time. Grignani also outlined plans to standardize common assessments, develop more reliable and valid formative assessments, and convene a committee to standardize grading practices at the high school. He said the school has formed a shared-leadership committee that produced a charter and earned faculty approval; that shared-leadership work is slated to begin in November.

Both principals and district staff discussed concerns about data use. Board members and attendees asked whether discipline entries or perceived bias could lead to negative consequences for students; district staff said access to sensitive records would be role-limited, training would include bias awareness, and the platform would support collaborative problem-solving across schools for students who need targeted interventions.

The presentations prompted questions from board members about cross-building alignment — whether elementary interventions feed middle- and high-school supports — and about accountability for literacy. Board members and administrators emphasized the district’s multi-tiered approach to intervention, letters training for teachers, reading-success plans housed in EduCLIMBER, and the need to pair access to high-level coursework with cohort supports so students from underrepresented groups can succeed in AP and honors courses.

No new districtwide policy was adopted at the meeting; principals presented building-level CSIPs for board review and future public posting, and the board invited continued discussion on data governance, literacy accountability and accessibility improvements.