District rolls out Renaissance/FASTBridge screeners to guide small‑group instruction

Bullhead City School District instructional staff told the board Tuesday they have begun implementing Renaissance FASTBridge screeners in math and reading to help teachers identify specific skill gaps and guide small‑group interventions.

A district instructional staff member explained the screener measures discrete skills — for example, automaticity in math facts or phonics in reading — and produces class‑ and student‑level reports that recommend whole‑group starting points and small‑group lesson plans. She said teachers receive class rosters annotated with recommended starting points and intervention suggestions, and classroom progress monitoring can be as brief as about a minute per student for benchmark checks.

The staff member described the intended cadence: screeners are administered, teachers use the data to form small groups, then progress monitor roughly every 10 school days for students receiving interventions. ‘‘The idea is ... every, like, 10 ish days of school, you would progress monitor,’’ she said, adding that progress monitoring typically takes about one minute per student.

Board members asked how the new tool aligns with the district’s model of instruction and whether teachers felt overwhelmed. Staff said the system complements the district’s model of instruction by focusing on the release and practice phase of lessons and supports tiered interventions (tier 1 instruction and tier 2/3 interventions). The district acknowledged teachers are adjusting to the additional assessments and that some feel ‘‘overwhelmed’’ while staff work to refine routines.

District staff said FastBridge is in place for math and reading screeners and that benchmark tests will follow; they will present benchmark results next month. The board did not take formal action on the report but accepted the administrative report as part of the consent agenda.