Lexington 1 presents program updates: immersion, GT, College Center, Title I, summer arts and e-learning plan

District leaders briefed the Board of Trustees on multiple academic and student-support programs on Aug. 19, reporting generally positive outcomes and several development items for the new school year.

Dual-language immersion: Chief Academic Officer Mary Gaskins and coordinator Sarah Bligh reported continued growth in the district’s dual-language immersion programs (French, German, Spanish, Chinese). Immersion students generally met or exceeded state growth targets in English Language Arts and math over the past three years, and many immersion completers earned the Seal of Biliteracy — 85 percent overall and 100 percent for Spanish immersion completers at River Bluff High School and Gilbert High School and for the French cohort noted in the presentation. The district celebrated 20 years of immersion and plans a community event in August.

Gifted & Talented: Erin Fitzgerald summarized the GT program’s post‑COVID rebound in state-identified students, noting a 20 percent increase after the district began universal screening for fourth graders with CogAT in 2022–23. Elementary GT is delivered through enrichment pull-outs with approximately 20 teachers across 18 elementary schools; staffing ranges from 0.5 to 2.0 FTE per school depending on identified students.

College Center: Administration reported continued growth but that the program is not yet at its target capacity of 400 students (100 new admits per year). The College Center accepted over 100 freshmen but enrolled about 76 this year; some students returned to home schools to participate in activities. Academic indicators for end-of-course subjects showed steady improvements in Algebra I, Biology, English II and U.S. History over time, though some year-to-year variation exists.

Title I and family engagement: Karen Cook, special revenue coordinator, reviewed Title I allocations. Lexington 1 received about $3,900,000 in Title I funds for 2024–25; 71 percent of those funds were allocated to schools and 29 percent to district set-asides. Title I usage includes salaries (approx. 60 percent), purchased services for professional development (11 percent), supplies/materials, family engagement staffing and resources, foster care transportation, and mental-health services for homeless students. Fourteen Title I schools (12 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school) were identified.

Summer arts camps evaluation: Dr. Shane Phillips presented an evaluation of the reorganized middle-school summer music camps (band, orchestra, chorus) that served 194 students at River Bluff High School in June with a cost just under $12,000 (general fund). Surveys showed high satisfaction among students and parents; recommendations included improved icebreaker activities and schedule balance across camp days.

E-learning updates: Mary Gaskins and Howard Bessle described changes to the district’s e-learning plan after about 1,000 stakeholder survey responses. The revised approach emphasizes flexibility, short teacher-led instruction segments and paper packets and recorded directions for younger learners. The state’s updated handbook suggests K–8 students should expect about 5.5 hours of cumulative e-learning time and grades 9–12 about 6 hours, with 200 minutes intended for direct instruction (live or recorded). Lexington 1 will provide "purposeful paper packets" for K–2 and optional office hours and structured supports for middle and high school students when e-learning days occur.

Across the program updates, district leaders emphasized continued monitoring and iterative improvement, and they committed to bringing additional data and follow-up reports to the board as requested.