District presenters told the Westonka School Board that the state-mandated REED Act rollout now requires a dyslexia screening that the Minnesota Department of Education has certified for statewide use. "The focus of the REED Act is to ensure every student between kindergarten and grade 12 is reading a grade level," the presenter said, and the district will administer the new screener for grades 4–12 in January and early February.

Board members asked technical questions about the screener’s morphology items and timing. The presenter emphasized that the district already uses fall and spring Fastbridge assessments and that the new state screener is intended to provide consistent statewide benchmarks and another data point to target interventions. The presenter clarified the district is not diagnosing dyslexia with the screener but using it to identify gaps and inform supports; if a student does not show progress after interventions over six months, families may discuss a formal medical diagnosis with pediatricians.

The board also heard updates on vocational programming. Staff described a newly launched introduction-to-construction-trades class and plans to expand construction training, machining, and medical-career pathways (nursing assistant, EMR/EMT). The presenter said the district received a grant of about $28,980 to support EMR/EMT programming, equipment, curriculum and materials.

Officials invited community members and industry partners to a medical careers roundtable on Tuesday, Jan. 27 from 5 to 6 p.m. at the district office to build advisory partnerships and placement opportunities for students. The district named local hospital leadership contacts it expects to involve in that discussion.

Why it matters: The state screener standardizes one aspect of reading assessment statewide and extends screening into upper grades; the vocational and medical-career expansions, supported by the grant, aim to create local pathways to employment for students.

What’s next: District staff will administer the screener this winter, communicate benchmarks once the state releases them, proceed with program registration for vocational classes, and host the Jan. 27 roundtable.