At a Jan. 13 meeting of the Colonial School District curriculum committee, school leaders reviewed district and building-level achievement metrics, described school-improvement priorities, and outlined programmatic efforts to support student growth and engagement.

District staff framed the discussion with federal and state accountability context, noting the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and Pennsylvania’s Future Ready Index as primary accountability frameworks. The presentation focused on Colonial Middle School and Plymouth-Whitemarsh (PW) High School; elementary schools were scheduled for a subsequent meeting.

Colonial Middle School reported roughly 1,300 students, with just over a quarter classified as economically disadvantaged, about 2.4% English learners, and just under 20% in special education. Building leaders said the school is above the statewide average in proficiency for ELA and math but remains short of the district’s long-term 2033 proficiency targets; in some grades overall growth slowed and the “all students” cohort fell below the growth standard, prompting deeper work on differentiated instruction.

Middle-school presenters highlighted subgroup analysis showing strong growth for historically lower-performing students in some grades, while higher-performing students in certain cohorts made smaller gains. The school said it will prioritize small-group instruction, data-informed walkthroughs, and teacher-led professional development to scale practices from the classrooms showing the strongest growth. The school also reported WIDA (English-language proficiency) cohort growth: 30 students took the assessment in 2023-24 (12 more than the prior year) and cohort composite WIDA scores rose from 3.3 to 3.8.

Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School reported that it continued to exceed statewide growth standards in Keystone exam areas. Presenters said the school ranks among the top five Montgomery County high schools in algebra, literature and biology growth measures. PW highlighted a multi-year record of exceeding growth targets and said panels of teachers use PBAS and local benchmark data to target supports.

PW shared course and program details that underline academic access and college/career readiness: 408 students took 606 AP exams in the prior year with 91% scoring 3 or higher; the school cited 16 National Merit recognitions. AP participation grew to 693 course enrollments this year and the district offers 31 AP courses and five pre-AP classes; AP Precalculus was added for next year. PW officials also noted 11 career pathways, an IB career program, and dual-enrollment offerings that had enrolled 223 students in the first semester of the current year.

Both schools described nonacademic investments intended to boost belonging and engagement. Middle-school work included a “Resolve Room” for conflict-resolution instruction, a No Place for Hate leadership group, and a looping counselor model to build relationships across grade cohorts. PW described bonus-block scheduling to give students time for clubs, supports and additional instruction, an expanding extracurricular program, and targeted student-support initiatives such as counseling and ambassador programs for new students.

Committee members asked about the coming field test and changes to state science standards, how the district compares with a selected peer group, and what professional learning looks like in classrooms adopting small-group instruction. Presenters said the current year will include a science field test and that teachers are using walkthroughs and peer-led professional development to spread proven practices.

Three conference/field-trip requests related to counseling and college-access programming were announced for board consideration — including a counselor fly-in funded by an external university and a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) college-visit program — and were slated to appear on the full-board agenda.