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Board reviews district scoreboards and student achievement gains, highlights special education progress
Summary
Board reviewed district and building scoreboards, curriculum and assessment strategies, student‑led portfolios, special education proficiency gains (SPED students 32% math, 28% ELA vs. ~17% state average), and engagement initiatives including Watchdog volunteers and community partnerships.
The Tea Area School District board hearing included a detailed goal review and scoreboard presentation across district pillars: student achievement, special education, engagement and community partnerships. District leaders described a multi‑year push to align curriculum, use data dashboards and deploy CSI coaching support to improve performance and instructional fidelity.
Speaker 13 (curriculum and assessment lead) and building principals described repeated short cycles of improvement, teacher collaboration, and work to replicate positive instructional practices. The elementary team pointed to math book study work and plans to run grade‑level data meetings earlier in the year so interventions can begin sooner. "We want to have those same meetings happen earlier in the year so that we're not using our midyear map plus the trend data to move forward the last semester," Speaker 10 said.
Special education leaders reported what they described as strong outcomes for students with disabilities: 32% proficiency in math and 28% in ELA on this year’s assessments, versus a state average of about 17%. Speaker 15 said roughly 50 students exited special education services this year through testing out, graduation, or completion of transition programs to age 21.
Across buildings, panels described tactics that contributed to gains: implementing data dashboards, student learning journals/portfolios, student‑led conferences, CSI coaching that visited classrooms, and targeted supports in areas such as math fluency. Principals and staff also highlighted community programs (Junior Achievement, PLTW, community internships), family engagement events, and new or continuing programs — for example, a Watchdog volunteer initiative that ran weekly and had roughly 20 men participating this year.
Board members asked about parent‑teacher conference turnout and whether student‑led portfolios increased attendance. Leaders said responses were mixed but noted student‑led sessions can improve parental engagement for families who do not regularly discuss academics at home. Several members suggested combining appointment windows with open houses to improve accessibility.
The presentation closed with praise for staff and community partners; the board did not take votes on instructional changes, and next steps include continuing dashboard use and further analysis of assessment trends.
