Trustees press district for more detailed ed‑tech usage data; approve limited credit-recovery pilot

Trustees on Dec. 15 questioned district reports showing campus-level usage for instructional software and asked staff to return with more granular, teacher- and classroom-level metrics before the next round of budget decisions.

Carlos Barrera presented districtwide usage reports for multiple online programs: Renaissance Accelerated Reader and STAR (reading and math), IXL, Progress Learning, Summit K–12 (language supports), Lexia (early grades bilingual support) and Ingenuity (credit recovery and test prep). He reported examples such as 3,607 registered students on IXL, 23,068 total hours on that platform and Lexia weekly student-use counts in November of roughly 131–165. A trustee raised concerns that, on the staff side for Lexia K–1, only 12 of 26 staff had logged in this year and only four had logged in in the last 30 days, calling that ‘‘concerning’’ for a program meant for early bilingual learners. Carlos and other staff explained that Lexia often shows more student-side activity because teachers use rotations and small groups rather than continuous teacher logins; staff said they would provide clearer staff-usage and progress tracking.

Separately, the board approved a six-month district pilot (not to exceed $5,000) for a credit-recovery and academic-support program to be run in parallel with existing Edgenuity courses. Staff said the pilot will be limited to select students or subjects to avoid disrupting students already near course completion and that it could be focused on subjects where students most need additional supports.

Trustees asked for actionable reports that identify which teachers and classrooms are using each program and for evidence of student progress tied to program use. Administration said it will explore additional reporting extracts from vendors and return with an improved report ahead of the budget process.