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Westonka reports record AP pass rates, launches new courses and expands career-technical programming
Summary
District officials reported all-time high passing rates on Advanced Placement exams, plans to add AP Seminar, expanded literacy professional development, mandated dyslexia screening roll-out and progress on developing nursing, machining and construction career-technology programs.
Mark (role not specified in the record) presented the district's academic report, telling the Westonka Public School District Board that AP exam participation and pass rates reached an all-time high: 337 exams were administered to 205 students and about 83.9% of exam takers earned a score of 3 or higher.
The superintendent-level report (speaker identified as Mark) noted 50 AP Scholars, 19 AP Scholars with Honor and 20 AP Scholars with Distinction, and called out subject-level standouts: AP English Literature (94% passing), AP Statistics (100% passing), AP U.S. Government (93%), AP World History (97%) and AP U.S. History (75%), several of which were described as record highs for the school.
The board was told the district will add AP Seminar through the English department to strengthen research and problem-solving skills. Staff said the course will be led by teacher Kelsey Walsh and is intended to prepare students for college-level analysis and research.
On literacy and interventions, district staff described ongoing REED Act–funded professional development and noted that many elementary staff are in the second year of LETRS training (a two-year program); paraprofessionals will receive an eight-hour training program split into elementary and secondary cohorts.
The district also outlined a new state-mandated dyslexia screening for grades 4–12. The transcript indicates the screening is a state-certified assessment; due to the state's rollout, the district said it will administer the screening in January this year and move it to fall standardized testing in subsequent years. Staff emphasized the screening is not a medical diagnosis but a tool to identify students for intervention and possible referral.
The district will implement EduCLIMBER, a data-tool to integrate academic, behavioral and social‑emotional data for multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS). Staff described an initial training for teacher leaders and administrators and said full implementation may take about three years.
On career-technical education, staff reported active work to launch programs in nursing, machining and construction trades; construction programming is slated to start this fall (working with Daryl Kimball) and machining/later programs are tied to completion of remodeling and space design. District staff said they are finalizing staffing, licensing, equipment needs and curriculum and will include these programs in registration materials once staffing is secured.
Board members thanked staff for the results and emphasized the district's focus on sustained teacher development and program-building as essential to student gains.
