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Douglas County presents 2025 Georgia Milestones results and a 2025–26 system improvement plan with numeric interim goals
Summary
District staff presented 2025 Georgia Milestones results (district- and school-level data), identified domains needing additional support (writing/ELA), and proposed a 2025–26 system improvement plan with interim numeric goals for reading and math and action steps including curriculum maps, professional learning, and a K‑12 math–science instructional lead.
Douglas County School System leaders presented the district’s 2025 Georgia Milestones assessment results and a proposed system improvement plan during a Sept. 2 work session, highlighting cohort trends, subgroup breakdowns and specific numeric targets the district intends to monitor throughout the year.
Latoya Mack, assistant superintendent of strategic data and research, summarized the assessment results and five‑year trends, reporting that 65% of third‑through‑eighth graders demonstrated "developing and above" in English language arts and that 72% of third‑through‑eighth graders demonstrated "developing and above" in math. Mack said several elementary and middle grades showed gains and that district-level subgroup slides and school‑by‑school breakdowns were presented to the board.
Keosha (Keisha) Davis, assistant superintendent of teaching and learning, and other instructional leaders discussed underlying drivers and instructional supports. Davis said district analysis identified an "opportunity for support in writing" and described instructional resources the district is using to address that need, including Think Circa (an instructional model), Ready Reading and other writing supports. "Our resources that we utilize do support in attending to the domains that we identified as a need," Davis said.
Board members pressed for clarity on whether writing skill gaps were driving lower ELA proficiency and asked how the district plans to replicate growth at higher‑performing schools. Presenters explained the district’s site‑based management approach, school improvement checkpoints and a train‑the‑trainer model for principals and instructional leaders to monitor fidelity of implementation. They emphasized that district action steps (the "5 non‑negotiables," curriculum maps, monthly principals’ curriculum meetings and professional learning communities) are meant to create consistency in instruction while allowing school‑level adaptations.
District staff also presented proposed interim targets for the 2025–26 school year that feed into longer‑term superintendent goals: examples included elementary ELA targets (district baseline and a goal to move elementary proficiency from 65% to 69% and middle school from 65% to 70%), cohort and subgroup targets tied to I‑Ready diagnostics (including specific percentage goals for students with disabilities and English‑language learners), and steps to support kindergarten readiness via Waterford programs.
The board sought additional breakdowns (e.g., movement from 'beginning' to 'developing' bands and school‑level cohort tracking). Staff said those more granular analyses exist and will be provided through strategic data and research and school improvement checkpoint reviews. The presentation closed with staff noting that many action steps are budget‑neutral, that some initiatives may be funded through federal Title programs or QBE swaps, and that progress will be shared with the board monthly.
Ending: The board had a lengthy Q&A on replication and monitoring; staff promised more granular cohort and subgroup analyses and committed to monthly updates.
