Miller Middle School reports gains in reading and math; board hears SEL, attendance and credit-bearing updates

At a Kingston City School District Board of Education meeting, Miller Middle School Principal Mr. Schiever told trustees the school exceeded its winter targets on several I‑Ready diagnostic measures and described further steps to expand literacy, math and social‑emotional learning programming.

Mr. Schiever said the school had set a winter target of 52% of students meeting their typical I‑Ready growth goal in reading; in January the school recorded 73% meeting that typical goal and 27% meeting a more ambitious “stretch” goal. For math, he said the winter typical target of 52% was met at 61% and the stretch target of 17% was met at 29% in January. He told the board the numbers come from diagnostics the school runs multiple times a year and are used to set individualized student goals.

The principal described changes to reading groups that place students in small, skills‑based groups, periodic review of placements, and use of multiple data sources — oral fluency checks, Words Their Way, I‑Ready diagnostics and state exams — to guide instruction. He said the school piloted CKLA this year (instructional scope varies by grade) and expects to expand implementation to additional grades over time.

On social‑emotional learning (SEL), Mr. Schiever said the school formed a BLT subcommittee to research SEL curricula and plans to pilot Character Strong next year because of its K–12 scope and tiered supports. He listed two other programs under consideration: Leader in Me and Second Step, and described how Character Strong's flexibility and tiered structure align with the district’s MTSS approach.

Mr. Schiever also reviewed walk‑through data. He said the team had completed 33 academic walk‑throughs and 43 SEL visits at the time of reporting. Among items noted as strengths were frequent specific feedback to students with disabilities (cited at roughly 88%) and frequent staff acknowledgement of student effort (reported near 94%). He said areas for growth included explicit instruction for responding to higher‑order questions and structuring activities that allow additional processing time for students with disabilities.

On discipline and restorative practice, the principal showed a downward trend in out‑of‑school suspension (OSS) over four years and an increase in restorative interventions; he noted much restorative work happens in classrooms and therefore may not always be logged at the administrator level. He said average daily attendance exceeded a 90% target across quarters and that 24 students had perfect attendance as of the most recent Friday, but he also reported 262 students meeting the district’s definition of chronic absenteeism (absent at least 10% of enrolled days).

The attendance numbers prompted extended board discussion. Several trustees praised the school’s restorative and supportive approach, with board members saying the district now routes attendance concerns to social workers to identify barriers rather than relying primarily on punitive measures. Superintendent Dr. Paoli clarified how attendance percentages are calculated after a local news report compared raw absence counts between years without normalizing for the number of students or days in the period. The superintendent said percentage attendance for Hispanic students was 87% in January 2024 and 86% in January 2025; February figures were both 89%, and March figures were both 90%, and he said those month‑to‑month percentages showed little change once calculated properly.

Principal Schiever and teacher Mr. Thomas also described student work highlighted in a “New Deal‑style” critical inquiry project that has been shared at local events and at the New York State social studies conference. Family engagement highlights included a science night that drew “over a thousand” community participants, student‑led conferences and other events intended to connect families and school learning.

The principal summarized facility‑related updates tied to the district bond: Phase 1 work included removal of breakaway ceilings and targeted abatement and ordering long‑lead items; Phase 2 awaited New York State Education Department approval; a Phase 3 submission was scheduled for May 9, and Phase 4 stakeholder meetings with architects and principals were planned. He listed several upcoming district events, including the MasterWorks concert, senior prom, senior awards and graduation dates.

Why it matters: The Miller report provided trustees with specific diagnostic results, program decisions and operational details the board can use when considering curriculum adoption, professional learning and budget priorities. The attendance clarification addressed public reporting errors about subgroup attendance and reinforced that the district uses percentages, not raw absence totals, for comparisons.

Speakers quoted or summarized in this article are drawn from the meeting transcript and include only those who spoke directly on the topics above.

Ending: Board members commended Miller Middle School staff for progress and for emphasis on keeping students in class through restorative practices. The district will pilot Character Strong for SEL next year and continue CKLA rollout; bond work and NYSED approvals will determine the schedule for major facilities projects.