Rochester schools show mixed progress on Q2 academic plan; attendance and suspensions discussed as curriculum and East High transition draw questions

Chief of Staff Lashara Evans presented the district’s quarter 2 update on Feb. 11, saying the academic plan is organized into five domains and “is connected to our long term goals and outcomes, including the strategic plan.” The quarter covers Oct. 1–Dec. 31, 2024, and the plan includes 47 recommendations districtwide.

Evans told the board the district used a standardized reporting rubric for each recommendation: departments submit evidence and indicate whether actions were “fully implemented,” “in progress,” or “partially implemented.” She said the state monitor, the superintendent and deputy, and the district’s fiscal monitor review submissions before sending a final document to the New York State Education Department.

The quarter’s implementation tallies varied by domain. Evans reported the following counts for Q2: turnaround leadership (7 yes; 1 in progress; 1 partial), talent management (5 yes; 1 in progress; 1 partial), instructional transformation (11 yes; 5 in progress; 6 partial), cultural shift (3 yes; 1 in progress), and systems/resources (3 yes; 1 in progress; 2 partial). Evans said these figures represent improvements from the prior quarter in several areas.

Why it matters: the academic plan’s domain-level recommendations are tied to the district’s consent-decree metrics and board goals, including credit accrual, high school completion and early-literacy targets. The Q2 report flags areas the district says still need work — notably extended school-year programming, chronic absenteeism strategies, and full implementation of professional learning communities.

Curriculum adoption and classroom relevance

Commissioners asked how curriculum is selected and whether teachers and students are meaningfully involved. Dr. Ramos (Teaching & Learning department representative) described a multi-step process: the district issues requests for proposals (RFPs) that specify instructional gaps and desired features; an instructional council that includes staff and parents evaluates submissions; selected materials are piloted in schools; and feedback from pilots (including student voice) informs final selection. Ramos said the district is piloting a high‑school ELA curriculum and that teachers and students provide input during pilots.

“First and foremost the first thing we do is identify those areas that we are looking for instructional… practices,” Ramos said, describing the RFP-and-pilot process and the involvement of an instructional council composed of staff and parents.

Several commissioners pushed for deeper teacher and student involvement in curriculum creation, not only selection, arguing local input could improve cultural relevance and engagement. Ramos responded that once a grade‑level curriculum is adopted, teachers adapt and make it culturally relevant during implementation and that the Teaching & Learning department monitors and supports those adaptations.

East High transition and board role

Evans and other administrators described planning for the transition of East High back into the district. Evans said monthly cross‑functional meetings are scheduled and a core team is governing the transition work. Commissioner Michelle Santiago asked when the board would be asked to act on transition recommendations. The district’s response: the board will generally see memorandums of understanding where collective‑bargaining inputs are required; many operational decisions and inputs are being handled by the superintendent and executive cabinet now and will be brought formally to the board only when a policy or MOU requires board approval.

Attendance, chronic absenteeism and suspension trends

Attendance and chronic absenteeism were a major focus in both Evans’ academic‑plan report and the elementary network updates that followed. Chiefs reported progress on several fronts: some networks saw small gains in average daily attendance (one network reported a rise from 80% to 83%), schools use tiered MTSS structures for attendance interventions, and sites deploy parent liaisons and school-level attendance teams that meet regularly to identify barriers and supports.

Elementary network leaders reported significant year-over-year reductions in suspensions in some networks. Network 3 leaders said suspensions fell from 658 at the end of the prior year to 167 currently. Network 2 leaders reported they were monitoring suspensions closely and pursuing a district goal of a 10% reduction; data shared at the meeting showed variation by school. Commissioners highlighted School 33 as an example, asking whether recent figures — described in the meeting as 83 total suspensions as of early February — reflected the broader trend. Board members praised district staff for the reductions and asked that data be presented regularly and in ways that allow commissioners to monitor progress.

District strategies described in the meeting to reduce absenteeism and suspensions included: - School- and network-level attendance teams that perform root-cause analysis and coordinate supports for families (food, clothing, medical referrals). - Expanded use of MTSS (tiered instruction and supports) and school-based problem-solving teams. - Restorative practices and building-based counselors and social workers as front-line supports so disciplinary incidents can be resolved without office referrals when appropriate. - Summer-school planning and increased family communications in families’ native languages for programs not yet due for full implementation.

Instructional priorities and elementary work

Elementary network chiefs described instructional priorities they said drive improvements: clearly posted learning intentions (standards) and success criteria in classrooms; daily writing prompts and display of student work; and stronger lesson-plan quality that aligns to priority standards. The chiefs reported district monitoring of two short-term implementation targets — the presence of posted learning intentions and success criteria, and graded student writing displayed in classrooms — and said district visits found about 57% implementation for learning intentions and about 61% implementation for writing at the time of the report. Chiefs emphasized these items are part of a broader push toward consistent, standards‑aligned instruction.

On phonics, the elementary team said the district has purchased CKLA (a phonics curriculum) and is implementing it in K–2 classrooms with diagnostics and reading specialists to accelerate early literacy progress. The district’s team said Dr. Kim Pappen Harris is leading that work.

What commissioners asked for next

Commissioners requested clearer public communications about the state definition of chronic absenteeism and asked the district to continue to break down root causes to inform community-engagement strategies. They also asked for follow-up data: school-level suspension and attendance numbers, outcomes from curriculum pilots, and indications of how East High transition recommendations will be brought to the board (MOUs, staffing decisions tied to collective-bargaining, or other formal actions).

Ending

District leaders said they will continue to submit quarterly academic-plan reports to the state monitor and the New York State Education Department, and they committed to continuing to provide the board with school- and network-level data so commissioners can track implementation of priorities and the impact on attendance, discipline and student learning.