Phoenix-Talent board hears strategic plan progress as attendance falls and reading scores rise
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Summary
District staff presented data showing gains in third-grade reading and math in some grades, declines in overall attendance driven by high school absences, and district steps to add an attendance-intervention tool and targeted supports for ninth graders.
Phoenix-Talent School District 4 officials presented a midyear update on the district strategic plan that showed measurable gains in early-grade reading and mixed results on attendance and graduation indicators.
Director of Structural Improvement Javier Del Rio, the district strategic plan coordinator, told the board the district’s strategic targets include raising third-grade reading proficiency and improving students’ on-track-to-graduation status. “We must be relentless in our commitment to great teaching,” Del Rio said, framing the district’s approach to curriculum implementation and teacher development.
Del Rio reported third-grade reading proficiency climbed from about 30 percent in 2023 to 37 percent in the most recent data. He said mathematics results varied by grade: third- through fifth-grade math proficiency rose (for example, third grade rose from 29 percent to 36 percent), while eighth-grade math fell from 22 percent to 18 percent. Del Rio also said the district’s overall attendance rate fell to roughly 64 percent districtwide, a decline driven largely by drops at the high school level.
Superintendent Brent Campbell told the board the district will expand systems and tools to address the attendance decline. He said the district is adopting an “attendance intervention” tool that will provide live dashboards, automated alerts and two-way text notifications to families and staff; the district expects the tool to help staff identify which class periods or students are missing time and to start quicker, data-informed outreach.
Campbell also reported the district’s previous pension-rate funding move drew a state employer incentive payment. “We received from the state an additional $375,000,” he said, and that amount will be deposited into the district’s existing cash-side account to realize rate benefits through 2037.
Board members pressed staff for more detail on cause and intervention. Trustee Dawn asked whether the district has good empirical data about the causes of chronic absence; staff replied the district has started listening sessions and will use the new tool and grade-level coaches to collect more actionable information. The board and staff discussed flexible pathways to credit for high school students—such as alternative credit-earning options tied to work or nontraditional schedules—to help more students get on track.
Del Rio summarized the district’s strategic targets: improve attendance to a higher share of students attending 90 percent of the time, move third-grade reading proficiency toward the plan target and increase the share of ninth graders with six credits. He emphasized the district would provide disaggregated subgroup data later in the fall and continue implementation of adopted curriculum and professional learning for teachers.
The board asked for quarterly updates with disaggregated data and directed staff to return with details on the attendance tool rollout and targeted supports for ninth graders. Del Rio said staff will provide additional subgroup reporting and timelines at fall meetings.
The presentation included staff exchange about how summer programs and credit-recovery work have helped reengage students; the board and administrators said summer school and targeted interventions produced some credit gains but not enough outright to restore on-track indicators for all students.
