Asheville City Schools reports modest midyear gains, expands tutoring after missed instruction

Asheville City Schools presented midyear assessment results and recovery plans to the school board on a February 2025 meeting, reporting modest gains on several universal screeners despite losing instructional time earlier in the school year.

Shannon Baggett, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, told the board that “even though we missed 22% of our school days from in that first semester, we’re still seeing growth at every grade level and in almost every subgroup.” She said that the district’s universal screeners showed improvements from the beginning of the year to midyear in several elementary grades and that district leaders regard tutoring and focused instructional coaching as central to continuing that progress.

The midyear snapshot the district shared includes results from multiple screeners and tests used at different grade spans: MCAS (a kindergarten–grade screening tool the district extends to grade 5), STAR (secondary reading), USNS (a math number‑sense screener), and first‑semester end‑of‑course exams at the high school. Molly Peoples, a member of the curriculum team, said kindergarten through third‑grade MCAS performance rose from 55.5% at the beginning of the year to 60% at midyear; fourth and fifth graders moved from about 62.2% to 68.1% at midyear.

District staff cautioned that benchmarks shift between the beginning and middle of the year and that different screeners use different proficiency thresholds. For example, Baggett explained that a first‑grade phoneme segmentation benchmark rises from 31 correct sounds per minute at the start of the year to 43 at midyear, so percentage comparisons must account for those changing expectations.

Equity measures and persistent gaps were central to the board discussion. Baggett repeated the district’s goal that “50% or more of our Black students will score proficient or higher,” and staff acknowledged that the district remains short of that target. The MCAS breakdown for Black students showed small increases in some early grades (K–3 Black students 32.1% → 33.3% at or above benchmark) and declines in others (fourth/fifth Black subgroup falling from 31.2% to 28.8% in the midyear snapshot). Board members pressed staff for details and for concrete steps to narrow the gaps.

Tutoring and external partnerships were a major part of the recovery strategy. The district partners with North Carolina Edcore to provide literacy tutors, primarily funded by Title I; staff said those tutors are showing strong gains among the students served. Ernest Sessoms said the program supplied roughly $16,000 for instructional resources this year and that the district has expanded Edcore tutoring into fourth and fifth grades. Baggett and Sessoms said principals select schools’ tutor allocations based on Title I needs and weekly progress tracking from the tutor platform.

District staff also described other investments and strategies: targeted use of Title II for teacher observation and LETRS training, Title III resources for multi‑language students, instructional coaching and PLC (professional learning community) support in schools, and a team of K–8 coaches running walkthroughs with specific equity indicators. Baggett noted the EL coaches’ walkthrough summary that in approximately 60% of secondary classrooms the team “saw evidence of teachers providing support, encouragement, and opportunities equally well for all students.” Board members asked how the district would support the remaining 40%.

Board members raised specific data concerns. One member highlighted a STAR reading snapshot showing only 5% proficiency in sixth grade at the beginning of the year; district staff provided raw counts: 2 of 39 sixth‑grade students were proficient under that screener in the session cited. Baggett noted that STAR and MCAS are different instruments with separate benchmarks and said staff would dig deeper into the apparent drop between fifth and sixth grades.

Staff also described a pending Project Serve grant application that, if awarded, would fund Monday–Friday after‑school tutoring for grades 3–12 through June 2026 and include transportation. Baggett said the grant would allow the district to supplement school‑day tutors with extended‑day instruction delivered by certified teachers, but she emphasized the grant was not yet awarded. The district is also using some Title I funds to add math tutors and is piloting additional interventions.

Board members asked for more granular, school‑level data. Baggett said the underlying dashboards and school reports exist; staff agreed to provide school‑by‑school breakdowns of tutoring allocations and results on request. Leaders also said they will continue monthly and weekly monitoring of progress and expand walk‑through coaching to support consistent classroom practices.

The district will continue to present midyear and benchmark results to the board as data points become available and after the middle‑of‑year assessments complete at middle schools. Staff emphasized that the combination of targeted tutors, coach‑led PLC work, and focused pacing aligned to state testing specifications are the primary levers the district will use to pursue its proficiency goals for Black students and other subgroups.

The board meeting included additional agenda items — recognition of teachers and awards, votes on field trips and a calendar, public comment on discipline and Title IX — but those topics are reported separately.