Sloan Public Schools reports favorable community survey results and updates strategic plan amid state test changes

Sloan Public Schools leaders on Nov. 11 told the board that a district‑commissioned community survey and a strategic‑plan review show continuing community support for local schools, while recent state assessment changes complicate comparisons to past performance.

The district’s survey of 300 randomly selected households produced high marks for school facilities, teacher performance and student safety, the presenter said. “Our top scores for 2025 are the quality of school facilities, performance of teachers, safety of students,” the presenter told the board, and the district’s overall grade averaged a B on the survey’s five‑point scale.

Survey findings cited by staff include 97% awareness of extracurricular activities (up 12 percentage points from 2024), 83% awareness of elementary specialist programs (also up 12 points), and 54% who said they were very or somewhat familiar with the term “chronic absenteeism.” The presenter also said 79% understood the connection between chronic absenteeism and graduation rates.

At the same meeting, strategic‑plan presenter Shanna Richter explained that the state updated cut scores and performance‑level descriptors for statewide assessments this year, which limits direct comparisons with prior years’ results. Richter reported current district measures under the new calculations: 30.6% of students at performance level 1 on the current ELA assessment and about 40% at levels 3–4; in math, roughly 30% at level 1 and 35% at levels 3–4. She described steady growth in the district’s communication and critical‑thinking rubrics and a 15.4% decrease in the kinds of social‑emotional behavior referrals tracked as part of the plan.

Richter said the district uses multiple measures — including building‑level analysis, mini‑assessments and K‑12 rubrics — to track progress. “When we look at these scores here, this is the district score, so this is taking all the grade levels and this is looking at a composite score for the district,” she told the board.

Superintendent Mr. Hogan also told the board the district’s unofficial federal cohort graduation rate is 83.6%, with a state‑cohort calculation of 86.8% under a newer state method that excludes some credit‑deficient transfers. Hogan cautioned that official graduation data will be released in January.

Board members asked about programs driving the gains; Richter pointed to investments in high‑quality instructional materials, structured‑literacy (letters) training and expanded preschool access as likely contributors, and noted that intervention staffing and tiered supports at schools play a role. The board discussed tracking landmark initiatives (for example, preschool expansion and literacy training) so their long‑term effects are easier to measure.

District staff emphasized communications findings as well: 87% of survey respondents said the district’s channels (email, website, social media and print materials) were effective in keeping the public informed, and 80% said they had some confidence that the district shares accurate and transparent information.

The district plans to post a fuller survey report on its website and to bring periodic strategic‑plan updates to the board as data become available and as the state’s assessment‑methodology changes are phased in.