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Board approves 2024–25 operational plan after staff report detailing preschool, literacy and community engagement gains
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Summary
Darcy Josephson presented a year-end review of the district’s 2024–25 operational plan, citing preschool readiness gains, Read Act training progress, expanded community partnerships and plans for curriculum and staff training; the board voted to approve the operational plan.
Darcy Josephson, administrator, presented the Alexandria Public School District’s year-end report on the 2024–25 operational plan and the board voted to approve the plan.
Josephson highlighted early-childhood findings showing that students who attended the district’s preschool performed above district averages on fall kindergarten FAST benchmarks. She said APS preschoolers exceeded the overall kindergarten benchmark by 7 percentage points for reading and by 1 percentage point for math in the fall comparison Josephson presented.
The report covered multiple instructional and support areas. Josephson said Bridgeway career learning served 29 students this year and that the district used mentors to support those students. She summarized progress on multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) for academics and behavior, the return of science instruction into K–5 classrooms with new curriculum and monthly coach support, and a 6–12 math review that will pilot new materials in 2025–26 with training already scheduled.
Josephson described family and community engagement metrics, including attendance counts for community education events (family fun night: ~500; Easter egg hunt: ~300; winter wonderland: ~250; father-daughter event: ~310) and reported 10,261 community partnership hours recorded in the high school this year. She said a United Way–funded community school coordinator position, started in January, helped connect families to local resources.
On literacy, Josephson reiterated state Read Act deadlines and local training progress: phase 1 training must be completed by 07/01/2026 and phase 2 by 07/01/2027; the district has been delivering phase 1 to classroom teachers, special-education staff and reading interventionists and is scheduling further trainer-of-trainer sessions for paraprofessionals.
Josephson also described recruitment efforts and innovations in human resources, including a six-week bus-driver recruiting campaign that produced no new applicants during the campaign period and a new monthly HR newsletter (Cardinal Care). She said the district will continue targeted recruitment and training for paraprofessionals and bus drivers.
Board members asked about collecting additional data on families who choose non-matriculation (families who take students out of district schools). Josephson said staff could pursue targeted conversations and match questions to an existing non-matriculation study to gather comparative data but cautioned that collecting, cleaning and aligning the results would take time.
After the presentation the board moved and voted to approve the operational plan. The motion carried; no roll-call vote tally was recorded in the transcript.
