District presents mid‑year strategic plan and monitoring report; literacy gains and graduation rate noted, gaps remain

Poudre School District R‑1 staff presented a mid‑year update on year‑two strategic actions and the DE‑1 monitoring report at the Feb. 25 board meeting, reporting measurable gains in early literacy and a rise in graduation rates while acknowledging continuing gaps for some student groups.

Literacy and curriculum adoption. Director of Curriculum and Instruction Amanda Krieger briefed the board on K–5 literacy implementation and secondary curriculum adoptions. Staff described district training, pacing guides and pilot data dashboards. Tyler Arco, an English department lead, told the board that the new ninth‑ and tenth‑grade English curriculum provides shared scope and sequence, “representation,” and built‑in student choice. Leaders said kindergarten through third‑grade achievement improved on a set of assessments and that adoption of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt materials in secondary grades is accompanied by Writable, an online writing tool, for targeted feedback.

Graduation and CTE/concurrent enrollment. Director Tanya Alcaraz and counselors described work to expand career and academic planning (ICAP), bused eighth‑grade visits to Colorado State University, and efforts to link high school course sequences to apprenticeships, college credit and industry certificates. The district reported an 87.3% graduation rate for the class of 2024 and noted continued growth in concurrent‑enrollment and career and technical education participation.

Monitoring report highlights and gaps. Chief assessment officer Dwayne Schmitz presented the DE‑1 monitoring report and explained the district’s use of achievement and growth effect sizes to combine multiple assessments into comparable measures. He emphasized that “attendance matters,” showing that students attending 95% or more of school days outperformed academic peers by a larger margin; he also said chronic absenteeism remains a concern. Schmitz highlighted stronger growth for students receiving additional support in many schools, but he also reported achievement gaps remain for students supported by IEPs and for students eligible for free or reduced meals.

Mental health, belonging and harassment prevention. Senior executive director Liz Davis and DEI coordinator Delia Mahaney outlined work to reduce harassment and discrimination, provide direct instruction in classrooms and train staff on recognizing and responding to bias. Staff said lessons and training have been piloted in multiple grades and that educators have provided feedback for continued refinement.

Board reaction. Directors praised the cross‑department alignment and asked for continued emphasis on addressing gaps for students with disabilities, chronic absenteeism and the practical roll‑out of literacy and ICAP initiatives. The board asked staff to continue reporting relevant metrics and to return with updates.