Wenatchee district presents Year 3 "Big 6" results; board hears new college and career team updates as ninth‑grade pass rates fall

The Wenatchee School District on Feb. 25 told its school board that Year 3 results for the district strategic "Big 6" indicators are mixed, and district staff outlined work by a newly formed College and Career Success Team to help more students stay on track to graduate.

District staff said the metric for ninth‑grade students passing all courses — a key short‑term indicator used to predict on‑time graduation — fell about 4.5 percentage points in the 2023–24 data the board reviewed. At the same meeting, the district described a wide program of outreach, advising and new course-pathway options intended to improve ninth‑grade outcomes and postsecondary readiness.

The update included a presentation by CTE Director Jake Buchholz and Tanya Brown of the College and Career Success Team. Buchholz described the current work to enroll and onboard students into accelerated pathways: "It's a major onboarding process," he said, noting the team had enrolled a little over 600 students so far and expected to approach 700 when enrollment work finishes.

The College and Career Success Team said its strategy begins in middle school with career exploration, resumes and learning‑style inventories, then continues through ninth grade with targeted advising and connection to career technical education (CTE) pathways. The district is using a platform staff referred to as SchoolLinks to store students' career selections and resumes so that information can travel with students if they change districts.

District leaders highlighted several components of the approach: weekly small‑group and individual meetings in "future ready" rooms at middle and high schools, lunchtime career meet‑and‑greets with local employers, job shadows and targeted recruiting of students who indicate interest in specific careers. Staff told the board they are meeting with students seventh through eleventh grade to support pathway decisions and to coordinate with families.

Board members pressed district staff on what additional interventions and resources will close achievement gaps. Director Maria described the Year 3 results as "a little disappointing," and asked what adjustments the district will make. District staff said many of the curriculum and instructional strategies presented in recent workshops (for example, work on structured literacy and math instructional routines) are the actions intended to move the needle, and that changes in participation on the state Smarter Balanced Assessment also affect trend lines.

Board members also raised concerns about participation rates and test‑refusal data; district staff said they were addressing nonparticipation and planning communication for families about assessment participation. Staff emphasized that some of the 2023–24 data are lagging indicators and that the district expects additional effects from this year's instructional work and the college and career onboarding.

Why it matters: Ninth grade is a commonly used early warning year for high school completion. District leaders told the board they are pairing systemwide instructional strategies with targeted advising and employer connections to provide clearer postsecondary goals for students and to reduce the number who fall off pace in ninth grade.

The board received demographic context with the report: the district's 2023–24 data showed 55.7% Hispanic/Latino students, approximately 25% multilingual learners, about 66% qualifying as low income, and roughly 16% of students identified as having disabilities. The district also reported 486 teachers with an average of 13.5 years' experience and that 68% hold master's degrees.

No formal board action was taken on the data presentation. Board members asked staff to return with additional detail on subgroup trends, family outreach strategies for multilingual and first‑generation families, and the staffing plan for the College and Career Success Team as it scales up next school year.