Roaring Fork highlights gains for emerging bilingual students, adopts Unified Improvement Plan

The Roaring Fork School District on Wednesday presented a Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education (CLDE) program review showing sustained growth for emerging bilingual students and approved the district's Unified Improvement Plan (UIP) that prioritizes attendance, math growth and early literacy for targeted subgroups.

Amy Fairbanks, director of CLDE, told the board the district posted an overall ACCESS median growth percentile of 57 this year, above the usual goal of about 50. "The goal is always 50 or 51," Fairbanks said, and noted the district has ranked between first and third among similar districts for several years. Fairbanks described the program mix that includes dual-language classes at Valley Elementary School and Riverview School, Spanish literacy in some schools and translanguaging strategies across English programs. She said the department has CLDE coaches in 11 schools.

The UIP presentation, delivered by Dr. Park, ties those program efforts to the district strategic plan. "The UIP is intended not to be that different from a district strategic plan," Dr. Park said, explaining the UIP's role in aligning academic-growth targets and improvement strategies. The UIP focuses on student attendance, math growth on CMAS and PSAT, evidence-based reading and writing measures, and elementary early literacy. Dr. Park said the district will post the UIP publicly on Oct. 15 and bring it to leadership for questions and feedback.

Board members welcomed the data but pressed staff on two themes: how the UIP will be communicated to schools and families and how ACCESS growth translates to academic achievement. Director Catherine said she wanted to know "how this is being communicated out to SACS, to schools" and urged a public engagement push. Director Kenny said while ACCESS growth is notable, "our academic success for our second language learners'continues to lag behind" and urged continued emphasis on research-based bilingual instruction and comprehensible input for young learners.

Staff and board members identified root causes in the UIP: inconsistent Tier I literacy implementation, varied use of evidence-based practices across classrooms, and the need for stronger coaching and data teams to monitor student work and plan targeted interventions. Fairbanks and school leaders said strategies will include a four-step feedback process for writing, strengthened coaching in content areas, increased collaborative interaction in lessons and clearer systems for weekly data meetings.

Fairbanks also compared district results to similar districts, saying Roaring Fork outperformed comparable districts by about four median growth percentile points. She credited principals, CLDE coaches and classroom teachers for the results but acknowledged subgroup gaps remain, particularly for students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, emerging bilingual students and students with disabilities.

Board members directed staff to return with plans for sharing the UIP with schools and communities, and several directors emphasized the urgency of early-childhood supports and bilingual approaches at kindergarten and first-grade levels. The board voted to approve the district UIP later in the meeting by recorded vote.