Dressel Elementary leaders highlighted significant student gains and schoolwide efforts to personalize learning at the Lindbergh Board of Education meeting on Nov. 20.

Dr. Patrick Shenikas, Dressel Elementary principal, told the board that the school’s Compass plan set a goal for 80% of third‑ through fifth‑grade students to score in the average to high‑average range on the NWEA ELA assessment. "This past spring, 87 percent of our students scored within the average or above‑average range," the presentation said, representing what presenters described as a 22‑percentage‑point increase from two years earlier.

The Dressel presentation also described nonacademic work the school said supports achievement: Lindbergh life success skills, Braille Literacy Month activities developed with district vision staff, monthly buddy‑class meetings to build empathy, and a digital personalized book created by district instructional technology and multilingual staff to support a kindergartner with limited English.

Tara Sparks, the district’s director of teaching and learning, presented the district Annual Performance Report (APR) and explained how the Missouri School Improvement Program (MSIP‑6) measures accreditation. Sparks reported an APR score of 93.5 percent for the year and said the district’s three‑year composite score is 93 percent. "Out of 553 districts and charter schools in the state of Missouri, only 23 districts have a composite above 90 percent," she said, and characterized the results as evidence of steady district performance despite year‑to‑year building fluctuations.

Sparks noted that APR and NWEA growth metrics are calculated differently and can yield different year‑to‑year patterns; she encouraged board members and the public to review the full APR materials, which the district said it will post on the Lindbergh Schools website with a summary and links to the presentation.

Board members asked clarifying questions about how college‑ and career‑readiness measures are calculated and how multiple assessments (ACT, ACCUPLACER, ASVAB) are counted; Sparks said she would follow up with details.

The presentation closed by thanking Dressel staff and students for their work and the district for ongoing board support. The district said several curriculum items and policy first readings shown during the meeting were informational and will return for approval at a future meeting.