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ISD 622 describes $2.9 million equity funding and continuing effort to close achievement gaps
Summary
District officials reviewed the Achievement Integration (ANI) funding stream and the comprehensive achievement and civic readiness (CACR) report: ANI provides about $2.9 million on a three-year cycle; proficiency gaps widened in 2024 largely because higher-performing groups improved; the district outlined strategies including pathways, AVID expansion and restorative practices.
District officials told the school board on Nov. 18 that the Achievement Integration (ANI) funding stream provides roughly $2,900,000 on a three-year cycle to support strategies intended to reduce racial and economic achievement gaps and improve student outcomes.
The district’s ANI director (speaker 12) said three major goals frame the work: (1) reduce the reading proficiency gap on the state MCA between students of color and white students (target: 11 percentage points by 2026), (2) increase the percentage of racially diverse staff from 18% in 2023 to 23% by 2026, and (3) maintain partnerships with neighboring districts for shared programming. The presenter highlighted approaches including career- and pathway-focused events, expansion of AVID supports in four secondary sites, summer 'Freedom Schools' to combat summer learning loss, restorative-practices professional development and cultural liaison supports for multilingual families.
The Research & Evaluation director (speaker 9) presented the CACR report that reviewed enrollment and outcome data for the 2024 reporting year: enrollment and program participation metrics (about 20% English learners, 21% special education, 64% free/reduced-price meal eligibility) and kindergarten readiness improvements (reading readiness up to ~50%; math readiness ~69%). However, MCA proficiency gaps between students of color and white students increased to about a 25-percentage-point difference in the latest reporting year; presenters said that rise reflected stronger gains among the highest-achieving group rather than declines among students of color.
Board discussion focused on attendance as a lever for closing gaps. A principal example cited school-level analyses showing that among students with high attendance there was no meaningful achievement difference between white and Black students, underscoring the district’s emphasis on reducing chronic absenteeism as part of its SIP (school improvement plan) strategies.
The ANI presenter also discussed staffing efforts: the district has welcomed cohorts of international teachers (21 Filipino teachers were reported in the current cohort) to address shortages, and staff are working with community partners and legal counsel to explore pathways to permanency amid changing federal visa rules.
District staff said they will continue to bring focused building-level presentations to the board (middle school in December) to detail how CACR and ANI strategies are implemented at the school level.
