Mineola Middle School presents 'Every Piece Counts' data and classroom strategies

Amy Trojanowski, principal of Mineola Middle School, and her administrative team presented a data‑rich review of middle‑school performance and initiatives at the Dec. 4 board meeting.

Trojanowski outlined subgroup percentages (14.4% ELLs, ~14.24% special education, ~26.8% free/reduced lunch) and described multiple assessment measures used to monitor growth, including NWEA, New York State assessments, and the EasyCBM universal screener. "We currently have 653 learners; 14.4% were ELs," Trojanowski said, explaining how Title I funding supports targeted extra help.

Team members described instructional changes: K–7 progression of 'X‑factors' (attention, task initiation, organization, planning and reflection), adoption of scoreboards in seventh grade to make learning and grading transparent, and PLC work to address gaps in writing and math. Principal Trojanowski also shared student videos illustrating 'sustained attention' and teacher‑led examples of anchor tasks.

Trustees sought clarifications on opt‑out rates and subgroup interpretation: presenters reported opt‑out percentages of roughly 11% (grade 5), 21% (grade 6) and about 24–27% (grade 7) for state tests, and noted that different students may opt out of different exams. The administration said it triangulates multiple measures and teacher observations to place students in MTSS tiers and will provide additional breakdowns on dual‑language retention and entry/exit numbers upon request.

No formal action was taken; trustees praised the work and asked administration to share scorecards and further disaggregated data.

The board moved on to other business and scheduled follow‑up as requested.