Seaford, Del. — Seaford School District presented its 2023–24 and 2024–25 accountability results to the board on Dec. 15, noting mixed outcomes across grade levels and a marked improvement for middle‑school special‑education students.

Dr. Jeanette, who led the overview, said the district uses the Delaware School Success Framework to evaluate schools and that Seaford’s elementary scores in English language arts and math sit around or above the state average in third through fifth grades. “For English language arts, this is SBAC grades 3 through 8. We’re right around the state average overall as the district,” Dr. Jeanette said. She added that math third through fifth grades remain “quite significantly above the state average.”

At the high school level, however, the district reported low SAT proficiency: 21% in English and 4% in math, compared with state averages of roughly 47% and 18%. The presenter noted the state is reassessing high‑school accountability measures and convening focus groups on whether the SAT should remain the principal metric.

The presentation highlighted significant gains in special‑education proficiency at the middle school: Dr. Jeanette reported increases of roughly 25 percentage points in seventh‑grade special‑education proficiency and nearly 28 points in eighth grade between the two reporting years. “Our middle school showed significant growth in their special education scores,” she said, and credited targeted Tier‑1 instruction and coaching efforts.

To address transitions that appear to widen gaps between late elementary and middle school, the district described steps to reinforce curriculum alignment: classroom observations across levels, vertical articulation meetings, professional learning for special‑education staff and paraprofessionals, implementation of the Amplify Math curriculum at secondary levels, and expanded dual‑enrollment offerings. Dr. Jeanette said the district is modeling fifth‑grade novel study structures on expectations in sixth grade so students face fewer surprises when advancing.

Board members asked for more detail on the causes of the mid‑grade dip and whether instructional shifts will be sufficient to close gaps. In response, Dr. Jeanette pointed to classroom walk‑throughs and planned coaching, and said several initiatives started last spring are being scaled districtwide.

The district did not provide a dollar estimate tied to the curriculum changes during the presentation. The board did not take an immediate vote on the accountability materials; the session concluded with follow‑up questions and a pledge to continue monitoring outcomes and progress on the articulated action steps.