District reports high participation in literacy training, unveils new family messaging platform and ninth-grade conferencing pilot
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Summary
The district told the board that 99% of K–5 teachers completed AIM literacy training (60 hours PD) with a district average post‑assessment score of about 94%. The board also heard about a TalkingPoints messaging rollout and a new ninth‑grade family conferencing program piloted at Craig and Parker.
At its May 13 meeting, the Janesville School District’s Personnel, Policy and Curriculum (PPC) update described professional development and family-engagement efforts the district plans to expand.
Lisa Herta reported on a ninth-grade conferencing pilot launched this year at Craig and Parker high schools to introduce students and families to academic- and career-pathway options. Staff conducted one-on-one scheduled conference time with ninth-grade families and used a career-matchmaker survey in English classes to support planning. Early survey feedback was described as “very favorable,” and staff plan to expand the program next year.
The committee also reviewed a district literacy initiative using the AIM platform aligned with Wisconsin Act 20 reading expectations. The training for K–5 teachers totaled 60 hours of self‑paced professional development funded by the district. As of the report, 99% of K–5 teachers, including English learner and special education teachers, had completed the training. Elementary principals completed a leadership pathway of about 45 hours. The meeting noted a required passing score of 70% on a post assessment and reported a district average of roughly 94% on that assessment. The PPC presentation identified fluency, sentence structure and orthography as areas for targeted improvement going forward.
The board also heard that the district plans to roll out TalkingPoints next year, a messaging platform that can operate via app or web browser and supports more than 50 languages. The district said TalkingPoints will supplement, not necessarily replace, existing communication tools such as ClassDojo in some elementary classrooms.
Neola policy updates reviewed by PPC were moved forward to the board consent agenda and were approved as part of that consent item.