Paolo Middle School principal outlines attendance gains, math interventions and new schedule

Paolo Middle School Principal Amy Carter told the Douglas County School Board that the school cut chronic absenteeism sharply and recorded gains on state and local assessments after a year of targeted interventions, and she outlined priorities for the new school year.

Carter said absenteeism fell from roughly 21.4% in 2022–23 to about 7.22% last year and described attendance, relationship-building and schoolwide events as central to that decline. She reported spring gains on SBAC and local MAP assessments: ELA proficiency rose from 30% to 35.5% and math from 19.8% to 22.43% district-provided charts showed. Science proficiency dipped slightly.

Carter described a district-funded math intervention initiative in which teams of teachers ran differentiated small-group work during advisory time; that work, she said, produced measurable MAP growth in the groups served. For 2024–25 the school plans to make tutoring part of advisory time (rather than after-school) to reach students who cannot stay after school, expand close-reading strategies across content areas, and use PLC time to align instruction.

Carter also noted the school won a PACE Lab grant and outlined operational changes: a shorter-period schedule (51-minute classes on most days, block periods mid-week), daily advisory, and a switch to in-day tutoring during block/advisory time. She asked trustees to consider community partnerships and contributions to enrich extracurriculars and to help families with costs for participation.

Trustees asked follow-up questions about schedule rationale, how tutoring assignments will be made and how the school will serve both students who need remedial support and those who are ready for enrichment. Carter said staff had tested multiple schedule models, consulted teachers, and would finalize tutoring enrollment in the coming week with teachers and counselors.