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Board presses district after assessment report showing flat math scores and persistent gaps for Native students
Summary
Director Jennifer Roberts presented the district’s state report-card data showing cohort growth in some grades but flat or declining math performance and persistent achievement gaps for Native students; board members urged concrete action, including a proposed task force, discussion of staffing and facilities, and consideration of a bond to address capital and staffing needs.
Jennifer Roberts, the district’s director of teaching, learning and innovation, presented the Rapid City Area School District 51-4’s assessment results from the South Dakota Department of Education report card, describing both areas of student growth and areas of concern.
Roberts said the report card is "lagging data" and likened it to "an autopsy" of last year’s system performance while also pointing to leading indicators where the district is making progress, including junior kindergarten literacy gains and improvements in some cohort measures. "This data is what we call lagging data. It's kind of like an autopsy because it gives us information after the fact," Roberts said.
The presentation showed cohort growth in some grades but relatively flat math proficiency districtwide and wide subgroup variation. Roberts noted the district met a 95% testing threshold this year that makes the aggregated results more representative; she also said schools have more consistent staffing in some areas and that the district has a literacy grant and resource adoptions underway. She warned, however, that gaps for Native students remain large and persistent.
Board member Walt Swan voiced frustration and urgency: "I'm tired of seeing the gap," he said, and asked the board and administration to form a task force to develop concrete interventions. Multiple board members supported a focused, ongoing strategy and pressed for specifics such as the number of interventionists needed, counseling and assistant-principal staffing targets, and the potential use of a bond to address aging facilities that administrators said also affect achievement.
Superintendent Dr. Thompson and other administrators acknowledged staffing shortages—specifically missing interventionists—and cited junior kindergarten, the science of reading, improved attendance efforts and the new behavior-huddle practice as priority levers to improve outcomes. Dr. Thompson also said poor or inadequate facilities contribute to lower achievement and should be part of long-range planning.
The board asked administration to return with clearer, research-based targets (for example recommended ratios or numbers of literacy specialists and counselors), cost estimates and a timeline for recommended actions. Trustees discussed tradeoffs between investing in salaries and staff versus capital improvements and debated options for funding, including bonds and reallocating capital outlay.
The board did not vote on any new policy tonight but asked for follow-up plans, data and options for prioritized investments at future meetings.
Next steps: administration to prepare a targeted action plan for addressing subgroup gaps, include recommended staffing ratios and cost estimates, and present options for funding (including bond planning) to the board.
