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Ralston school leader says district reading proficiency flat, outlines attendance plan
Summary
A school leader (Ryan) presented Mockingbird School data: FastBridge reading proficiency for grades 2—6 remained flat at 38%; several grades improved on NCAS; district reported 210 students currently missing 10+ days, and the school announced an attendance intervention plan with earlier family meetings.
Ryan, identified in the meeting as the schoolimprovement presenter, reviewed student assessment and attendance data for Mockingbird and the district on Aug. 11. He said the district had set a goal to "increase our reading by 25%" but that FastBridge scores for grades 2—6 were unchanged year to year at 38%. He described specific grade-level shifts: kindergarten made notable gains, while first-grade fluency declined and required targeted intervention.
Ryan said the NCAS proficiency figures in the packet contained an error and that, after rechecking the NWEA/NCAS site, the correct current figure for the aggregate tested grades was higher than the dashboard originally showed. He walked the board through grade-by-grade changes (for example, third grade noted an increase from the 10% range to the mid-20s) and said the district will restructure how interventions are prescribed: a data team will recommend targeted interventions and timelines rather than leaving those decisions solely to individual teachers.
Attendance was a major concern. Ryan said 210 students had missed 10 or more days so far and noted that number had been higher in the previous year at one building. The district set targets (95% average daily attendance; chronic absenteeism under 20%) and outlined an escalation plan: within the first quarter a meeting will be scheduled after three absences, at six absences in the second quarter, and again at nine absences in the third quarter to prevent students reaching 10 missed days.
Board members asked about cultural relevance of curriculum, EL student assessment load, and use of digital resources such as IXL or recorded lessons to help students who travel. Ryan said the district will explore distance-assignment options but emphasized that nothing replaces classroom instruction. The presenter emphasized teacher collaboration (PLCs) and a strengthened data-team approach as principal tools to lift proficiency.
What happens next: The board asked buildings to start collecting reasons for absences and to return with more detailed data on the causes of absenteeism so the board can evaluate district-level interventions.
