Culinary students lead pledge as Gaylord district highlights strong test scores and US News recognition

At a Gaylord Community Schools board meeting, culinary arts students from the district’s ProStart program led the Pledge of Allegiance, and district data staff presented year‑to‑date assessment and funding results that administrators said show strong performance across the district.

The presentation, led by Mr. Keck and district staff member Cindy, highlighted that the district outperformed its identified peer group on SAT and M‑STEP proficiency across grades and has lowered the student‑to‑staff ratio from about 21:1 to 17.7:1 since 2019. "We're continuing to work on that," Mr. Keck said while reviewing trends and peer comparisons. He also told the board that 55% of students were classified as economically disadvantaged last year and that the current fourth‑grade cohort shows roughly 70% reporting that status.

Principals and teachers described local successes and programs that support those outcomes. Laura Korf, the district's culinary arts instructor, described her ProStart students’ state competition plans and the certifications they can earn through the program: "In that program ... students learn the basics of how to live, learn, and work in a restaurant," she said. Student Ezra said, "We're gonna win," referring to the upcoming state competition.

The presentation noted strengths in math (above the state average in most grades) and strong SAT outcomes compared with the district’s peer group. District staff also pointed to instructional spending priorities, saying a larger share of available dollars goes to direct instruction than to administrative or support services. District leaders shared that the US News & World Report recognized all five of the district’s buildings as "best schools," and cited example rankings: Gaylord High School was listed roughly 5,311th out of about 25,000 public schools nationally, placing it near the top 21% in that dataset.

Board members asked for more detail where results lagged. One board member noted low third‑grade ELA proficiency and asked what explanatory factors existed; Mr. Keck cited rising special‑education identification, high absenteeism and behavior concerns. He said, for one cohort, about 68% of students missed more than 15 days last year and that these attendance and behavioral issues are part of the challenge affecting early‑grade outcomes. The board and staff said interventions begin in earlier grades and that the district will continue monitoring the impact of programming such as high‑dosage tutoring and student leadership initiatives.

The presentation closed with applause for extracurricular achievements: the debate team placed in regional competition (one student placing 12th out of 92, another seventh) and principals noted student leadership and community activities planned in coming weeks. District staff said they would provide printed copies of the data to board members and return with updates in future meetings.