Richland 1 board hears report-card gains, staff outlines steps to sustain progress
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Summary
At a Dec. 16 work session the Richland 1 Board of School Commissioners reviewed the district's 2025 South Carolina report card, which showed gains in algebra and college-and-career readiness; staff described new supports (Kickstart, Brain Boosters, RISE) and an action plan to address declines in biology and rising suspension rates.
Columbia, S.C. — The Richland 1 Board of School Commissioners on Dec. 16 reviewed the district's 2025 South Carolina report card and heard presenters describe gains in several academic indicators alongside targeted work to address weaker areas.
"We're seeing the results of clarity, coherence, credibility and consistency," an office of Teaching & Learning presenter told the board, outlining a multi-year strategy the staff said has guided recent progress. Chairman Robert Lomenak opened the meeting and the board unanimously adopted the evening's agenda.
Dr. Minor of AARE, who explained how state report-card indicators are calculated, told commissioners the district had five schools rated "excellent," seven "good," and no schools rated "unsatisfactory" on the latest report card; she added that designations for CSI/ATSI schools are expected to be sent in January. "We will be bringing their continuous improvement plans to the board for approval," she said.
Secondary performance leader Dr. Hassinger highlighted several district gains but identified areas needing attention. He noted algebra 1 pass rates rose 10.4 percentage points over the previous year and that college-and-career readiness increased sharply to 73.3% districtwide. "We had 2 huge years in terms of the way our students can qualify," he said, citing expanded dual enrollment and higher SAT cut scores that created new qualification paths.
At the same time, staff flagged a decline in biology scores, which fell 6.6 points to a 41.3% pass rate. Dr. Hassinger attributed the drop partly to staffing turnover and to grade-level shifts (some schools tested ninth graders rather than tenth), and described an action plan adapted from a successful US History approach: more co-teaching, sample units, station-based labs and phenomenon-driven lessons to prioritize the higher-order thinking the new exams require.
Presenters repeatedly emphasized data-quality work as a driver of improvements. Dr. Hassinger said district teams tightened data entry procedures and created single CTE data-entry roles at schools to capture credentials and work-based-learning results that previously had been missed.
Several commissioners pressed staff for clarity on how recent gains were achieved and what the board could do to sustain them. Commissioner Moore asked that the district provide "an acronym cheat sheet" to make materials easier to parse; Commissioner Bishop urged the board to consider reallocating resources to early grades and to behavior supports so students stay in class.
On that point, the administration said suspension rates have risen in some schools and stressed the district is expanding behavioral supports, including collaborations with Clemson University, adding certified behavior analysts and looking at both restorative practices and family-engagement requirements tied to re-enrollment.
The meeting closed with staff noting specific next steps: continued quarterly CIP monitoring (next data check Jan. 13), bringing continuous improvement plans for underperforming schools to the board for approval, and rolling out pre-K Kickstart reading in the spring semester. Chairman Lomenak adjourned the session without additional votes.
What happens next: staff will provide notification packets on school designations in January and return continuous improvement plans to the board for approval.
