Sun Prairie schools report "reasonable progress" on student personal development; two measures fall short

Superintendent Brad Saron submitted the Student Results Policy 3 (SR 3) monitoring report at the Sun Prairie Area School District Board of Education meeting on Nov. 10, 2025, saying the district is "making reasonable progress with exceptions noted." The report covers the 2024–25 school year.

Dr. Stephanie Leonard, assistant superintendent for teaching, learning and equity, told the board that the administrative team judged the district made reasonable progress on 10 of 12 board expectations and identified exceptions on two indicators. "Considering the preponderance of evidence, the superintendent judges that the school district is making reasonable progress with exceptions noted," Leonard said.

The presentation laid out the board-approved progress descriptor key, a five-level scale for comparing district results to board expectations. Dr. Kurt Mould, director of digital media innovation and strategy, explained that an indicator falling within 5 percentage points of the board standard is noted as "reasonable progress with exceptions" in the monitoring report.

On SR 3 Section 1 (student emotional and social development), Janet Thomas reported that 84% of students responded favorably to questions about emotional development (exceeding the 80% goal) and 87% reported favorable social competence (above the 80% goal). Major behavior referrals were low: 93% of students had 0 or 1 handbook violations, exceeding the 80% target. Out-of-school suspensions were reported as a 93% rate of students with no suspensions, short of the 95% target and therefore noted as an exception.

For SR 3 Section 2 (future-focused skills and college/career readiness), presenters said the share of high school students earning a B‑ minus or better in college- or workplace‑aligned courses rose from 39% in 2023–24 to 56% in 2024–25. The report also noted 94% of high school students passed SP 30 (academic and career planning), above the 80% goal. Academic self‑concept was 75%, below the 80% target; the presenters said deeper analysis shows 82% of students report persistence but only 67% report setting realistic goals, which drives the lower overall self‑concept score.

Dr. Mould reported noncore high school courses produced an 82% rate of B‑ minus or better, and students earned credit in the four core classes at a 96% rate. Sense of belonging across grades 3–12 was 81%, meeting the board's 80% threshold.

Eric Nee reviewed extracurricular involvement, reporting a district participation rate of 61% for grades 6–12 in 2024–25 (up from 59% the prior year), which the district characterized as reasonable progress toward its longer-term 70% benchmark. Jamie Racine said 15% of students at community school sites participated in sponsored out‑of‑school‑time activities in 2024–25, unchanged from 2023–24.

Looking ahead to 2025–26, Leonard outlined action steps: form an elementary behavior consistency committee, implement a revised secondary behavior matrix, deepen restorative-practice implementation, gather caregiver and student voice on SEL curriculum, train PBIS coaches, engage restorative-practices coaches with an external partner, implement elements 4–6 of the instructional framework, and fully implement student advisory councils at Sun Prairie East and Sun Prairie West High Schools. She also highlighted athletics and activities programs including "courageous conversations" for coaches and name-image-likeness training.

The superintendent closed the presentation by thanking staff and submitting the monitoring report to the board for consideration. No formal board action (motion or vote) was recorded in the transcript excerpt presented.