Summit Elementary principal highlights proficiency gains, behavior supports and expanded after-school STEM

Amy McNeil, principal of Summit Elementary School, briefed the Cache County School District Board on Oct. 16 about enrollment, assessment results and programs aimed at improving attendance, behavior and early numeracy.

McNeil told the board Summit’s official Oct. 1 enrollment is 683 students in kindergarten through sixth grade and 709 when preschool is included. “We have 65 students who are limited English proficient and 277 students who are eligible for free and reduced-price lunch,” McNeil said, noting those numbers sustain Summit’s Title I status.

McNeil presented 2024–25 assessment results. “For math, we were at 62% proficiency, and for science, it’s 61.2%,” she said. She said final statewide English language arts scores were still being finalized and expected to be released the following Monday. For Acadience end-of-year assessments, McNeil reported 76% proficiency in reading and about 70% proficiency in math. She singled out kindergarten math as an area of concern and a current focus.

The principal reviewed programs and interventions the school is using to address academic and behavioral needs. A newly started before-school math reteach program runs this trimester, McNeil said, and an after-school Lego robotics and STEM program serves roughly 25 students per rotation. She said the robotics program is part of a CAPS (Career and Technical Education) alignment with high-school programs.

On behavior supports, McNeil described Summit’s PBIS (positive behavioral interventions and supports) program, branded “H.E.R.O.” — helpful, exceptional, responsible and optimistic — and a “summit service squad” of fifth- and sixth-grade student leaders who mentor younger students during morning recess. She said the school has a check-in/check-out pilot that has shown positive effects for students needing additional relationship-building with adults.

McNeil explained a schoolwide academic strategy the staff calls RAP — restate, answer, prove — to scaffold student answers in both language arts and math. “Teachers teach the strategy and then slowly pull back,” she said, describing classroom observations in which students used partner talk and produced quick, complete problem statements.

On family engagement, McNeil said Summit continues to operate a WATCH D.O.G.S. program for fathers and father-figures; the program typically draws 15 to 20 volunteers during the year and about 25 so far this year. The school also uses monthly attendance incentives (a “popcorn party” tied to a 90% attendance target and fewer than 10% tardies) and a monthly “perfect attendance” recognition to encourage calendar attendance.

McNeil also reviewed challenges. “We are seeing some high-need behaviors — defiance, attention-seeking and issues with self-regulation — and incoming kindergarteners show deficits in social skills and functional communication,” she told the board. She said staff are focusing on social skills and functional communication supports as part of kindergarten intervention work.

Board members asked clarifying questions during the presentation. Bridal Chambers asked about robotics participation; McNeil said enrollment is limited and students rotate by trimester. Terry Rhodes asked whether students get more proficient the longer they remain at Summit; McNeil confirmed proficiency tends to improve as students progress through the grades.

McNeil closed by thanking parents and staff for supporting PBIS and other student opportunities. “We really work hard to have a welcome and friendly environment,” she said.