West Chester approves targeted-support plans for Hillsdale and Pierce after presenters cite gains for English learners

The West Chester Area School District board approved Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI) and Additional Targeted Support and Improvement (ATSI) plans for Hillsdale Elementary and Pierce Middle School at its June 16 meeting, after principals and administrators described instruction and outreach that they said produced early gains for English learners.

The board, meeting as the full West Chester Area School board, voted to approve the plans after a presentation to the Teaching, Learning and Equity Committee earlier that evening and a recommendation from district staff. The committee had also moved the plans forward; the committee vote was recorded as 3–0. The formal board vote carried at the June meeting.

District staff said both schools were identified through review of Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) results and state accountability procedures and are receiving targeted supports focused on English learners. A district assessment supervisor was named as supporting school teams in drafting action plans.

Hillsdale Elementary principal (name not specified in the transcript) told the board the school continued literacy work begun under its 2024–25 TSI plan and had layered in strategies specifically for English learners, including professional development on sentence frames and guided notes, increased Tier 1 literacy instruction in kindergarten, and more collaboration between reading specialists and EL teachers. "We have seen tremendous growth in that group of students in this school year," the principal said, and reported that 40% of the school's English learners scored a 3 or higher on the district's January Read-ACCESS measure, exceeding the 36.1% figure cited as contributing to the school's 2025–26 designation.

Pierce Middle School administrators described the school's ATSI (a multi-year designation) supports and said early PSSA data showed promising growth in math and reading. The Pierce presentation emphasized community engagement efforts — including a back-to-school kickoff at the Westside Community Center to help families with supplies and portal access, after-school homework programs, affinity groups and cultural events, and an "equity student union" that meets before school — and instructional strategies such as co-taught reading and content classes. The presenter said the school will switch to IXL for math progress monitoring and will conduct quarterly progress monitoring with regular data-analysis time built into teacher schedules.

Board members praised both schools' whole-school approaches, the emphasis on using data, and co-teaching strategies. Committee and board documents presented at the meeting indicate the district's continuous improvement cycle will guide action-plan updates and midcourse corrections.

The approvals mean both schools will proceed with their specified 2025–26 plans and receive district supports identified in the committee presentation. The schools remain subject to state accountability processes and periodic review of progress.

Ending details: The Teaching, Learning and Equity Committee said it will reconvene in August; district staff noted supervisory and assessment support will continue as schools implement the plans.