Nathan Twining school outlines gains in attendance, literacy and behavior supports

Nathan Twining Elementary and Middle School presented its Be Legendary school data Monday, describing academic, behavioral and attendance supports tailored to a highly transient, military-connected student population.

Principal Chad Kotika opened the presentation and introduced a team that included a literacy specialist, an instructional coach and a mental-health specialist. The school said its elementary enrollment is about 212 and middle school enrollment is 71, with more than 10 countries of student birth represented. Staff stressed mobility: the elementary school reported roughly 39% of students were “new to us” this year.

Academic programs: Nathan Twining reported using district-adopted curricula in ELA and math, pilot testing Wit & Wisdom in elementary grades and Envision mathematics in middle school. Literacy specialist Laurie Gangel said staff use district screening data and curriculum-aligned interventions, and the school has added an instructional coach to deepen instructional reflection and targeted small-group work.

Behavior and social-emotional supports: Mental-health specialist Laura Voorhees described an expanded PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports) program tied to a SOAR framework — Safe, Organized, Accountable, Respectful — and several character-education initiatives aligned with military values. Voorhees said the school uses Panorama for progress monitoring and had 28 MTSS-B behavior plans in place at the time of reporting; she said 71% of completed plans met their goals.

Attendance: Voorhees reported the school’s elementary attendance rate is 95.5% year to date and the school-level chronic absenteeism rate for elementary is 13% (29 of 215 students). She noted seasonal patterns connected to military deployments and leaves and said the district monitors attendance with a 10-day moving average.

Grants and programs: Presenters described DoDEA (Department of Defense Education Activity) grant-supported programs — including Project HERO, Project FIT and Project BIT — that supply staff training, STEM resources and behavior-intervention support; one presenter said personnel costs account for about half the project budgets because grant success depends on staff time.

Trustees praised Twining staff for tailoring programs to military families and asked for more detail on staffing and space needs. The presentation did not ask the board for action; it concluded with trustees thanking the team and offering to bring the presentation to other committees or meetings.

Ending: School leaders said they will continue to monitor mobility-related needs and refine curriculum and interventions to maintain growth in literacy and math while supporting student attendance and behavior.