The Upper Dublin School District Education Committee reviewed a proposed redesign of elementary progress reports Sept. 3 and agreed to forward an administration request to pilot new English language arts materials to the legislative committee.

District staff described the redesigned progress report as separating “qualities of a learner” (behavioral and classroom routines) from academic performance on state standards. Qualities of a learner will use a three‑letter scale (C, O, R — consistently, occasionally, rarely); academic standards will use a 4–3–2–1 scale where 4 indicates meeting the standard, 3 approaching, 2 developing and 1 emerging. The progress report drafts also include indicators that signal whether a student receives additional supports (for example, reading specialist or Title I math support) and alignment language linking items to Pennsylvania standards.

“The purpose of the progress report is to provide a clear picture of student learning over the course of a school year, over the course of three trimesters,” a staff presenter said, describing the committee’s summer work and the planned supports for teachers during rollout.

Administrators told the committee they will present draft progress reports to staff during monthly curriculum and grade‑level meetings, bring samples to back‑to‑school nights and invite parent feedback through QR codes on the drafts. The district plans a parent/staff survey at the end of each trimester during this first rollout. Staff said the goal is to have the new progress report go into effect at the end of the first trimester in December.

Committee members asked how the district will ensure consistent application of the rubric across classrooms and buildings. Staff said the district will continue committee meetings, produce guiding documents for teachers, and use grade‑level and curriculum‑leader conversations to build consistency.

On policy, staff said the district’s Policy 212 and its administrative regulation (AR) on reporting student progress delegate approval to the superintendent or designee and do not require full board approval; the administration said it has nevertheless sought stakeholder and staff input.

Separately, the committee agreed to forward to the legislative committee a request to approve an English language arts materials pilot. The administration said it had conducted a needs assessment across K–12, plans pilots at K–5 and likely grades 6–8 (9–12 still under review), and expects pilot instruction to occur in the second and third trimesters with a materials recommendation at the May board meeting. Staff said they intend to pilot two products where possible so the district can compare two prospective resources with the current materials and triangulate results based on student interaction and assessment data.

Procedural items addressed at the meeting and forwarded to the legislative committee included approval of the committee minutes and two student‑activity items (a girls cross‑country invitational in Carlisle and a Thespian Conference in Allentown). Committee consent to forward those items was taken by voice/thumbs up; the transcript does not record a roll‑call vote.

Next steps described by staff include presenting progress report samples at back‑to‑school nights, coordinating communications with the district’s director of communications, collecting parent feedback via QR codes, and bringing a materials‑selection recommendation to the May board meeting following the pilot.