Milicoma interim principal points to SABIS adoption and targeted interventions as path to raise math and attendance

Kevin Guthrie, interim principal at Milicoma, presented beginning-of-year DIBELS and math diagnostics and described school- and grade-level targets for the year, emphasizing consistency in curriculum after past variability.

Guthrie said Milicoma’s regular-attender figures had been as low as the mid-50s last year and that the school set a goal of raising the regular-attender percentage, citing community and family factors that affect attendance. "For a full year... it would be 7.25 credits," Guthrie said when discussing credit equivalents and full-time enrollment as context for other schools.

Why it matters: Sustained regular attendance and consistent curriculum sequencing are foundational to improving math and reading outcomes. Guthrie highlighted that a multi-year switch to a common math program (SABIS) helps prevent mismatched scope-and-sequence problems that undermine cohort growth.

Supporting details: Guthrie described AVID and note-taking strategies being adopted district-wide, the plan for focused minutes on SuccessMaker for math (a stated weekly-minute target in other schools), and plans for tutor-led sessions and PLC work. He also raised summer learning loss as a factor and discussed the trade-offs between when BOY diagnostics are administered and intervention scheduling.

Board discussion and next steps: Board members encouraged more comparative visuals, showing cohorts over time, and asked administrators to provide counts behind percentages and to track summer learning loss impacts.

Provenance: Guthrie’s remarks and the Milicoma data presentation occurred in the district data segment (start 01:11:55).