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Board confronts low proficiency rates and discusses targeted interventions, class-size and staffing trade-offs
Summary
Administration presented updated achievement and growth data; districtwide proficiency rates remain below 50% in core subjects, and trustees discussed targeted interventions (RTI), class-size reduction, teacher aides, and a strategy to shift resources toward lowest-performing cohorts.
Cumberland County school leaders presented district achievement and growth data, and the board discussed targeted interventions and staffing changes to address persistently low proficiency in core subjects.
Doctor Farley and her academic staff summarized state accountability and local progress: district-level proficiency across tested subjects was reported at roughly 38.5% in ELA and about 39.9% in math (figures reported from the state report card during the meeting). Staff emphasized that while some incremental gains exist year-to-year, the district remains below where it needs to be to meet long-term state benchmarks. The board reviewed growth indicators that measure student progress year-to-year and noted that many students showed at least a year of growth but overall proficiency levels remain low.
Trustees asked for clearer alignment between growth and achievement and urged a deeper examination of the drivers of success at higher-performing schools. The board singled out one elementary school where third-grade proficiency was reported as substantially higher than other schools; members asked the administration to identify practices there that could be replicated elsewhere.
Board members focused on several operational levers to increase proficiency:
- Class-size reduction: Trustees discussed using available budgeted teacher positions to reduce third-grade class sizes where proficiency was lowest. Staff said there were four currently budgeted teacher positions unfilled and noted constraints: state rules and the district's earned positions logic mean some earned positions cannot be added automatically without changing allocations. Staff advised caution because additional teachers can be necessary later in the year if enrollment changes. The board discussed using some of the budget cushion to hire teacher aides or additional teachers where needed.
- Teacher aides and interventionists: Several trustees proposed hiring higher-paid teacher aides or targeted interventionists (RTI staff) who could work intensively with students below benchmarks. Administrators noted that prior local examples showed that putting a skilled teacher and additional aides in a classroom produced sizable year-to-year gains in one school; the board asked staff to analyze whether aides or certified teachers would be the most cost-effective option to raise third-grade proficiency.
- RTI and early-grade focus: The district reported it has been using RTI and a series of benchmarks and that early-grade interventions (K-2) are essential for long-term third-grade proficiency. The board asked the administration to present evidence of interventions' measured impact (benchmark improvement for students who received RTI supports) and to identify whether additional RTI positions funded locally were returning measurable gains.
- Curriculum fidelity and pacing: Administrators explained that the district is now using adopted curriculum series and has pacing guides; the board asked for continued monitoring of fidelity and a February collaboration day for teachers to revisit pacing and alignment across grades.
- TISA accountability targets: Staff reminded trustees the district must create multi-year TISA targets that, if kept, would move the district toward state targets (transcript discussion referenced a goal of 70% proficiency by 2030 in statewide messaging). Trustees emphasized the need to identify short-term, measurable goals and tie them to budget items.
Next steps requested by the board: the administration will produce school-level reports tying student benchmark data, RTI/intervention caseloads and staffing, and per-school resource allocation; it will also provide comparative analyses showing what the higher-performing third-grade school did differently. Trustees asked that those materials be available well before the district retreat and be included in October work-session materials so the board can align strategic plan priorities and the superintendent's evaluation criteria to student outcomes.
