Humboldt Elementary highlights literacy gains and staffing strains, urges capital investment

Principal Melissa Tannehill and Assistant Principal Tony Chavez presented a progress report on Humboldt Elementary School, describing instructional strategies, student supports and pressing facility needs.

Tannehill said the school’s theme — “learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere” — underscores a focus on professional learning communities (PLCs), tiered interventions and a new "Walk to Read" phonics grouping. She credited teacher collaboration, use of benchmark data and supplemental programs such as Lexia for recent third-grade growth and for helping students trend toward proficiency.

The presentation also detailed operational challenges: Tannehill said the school experienced a substantial midyear influx of English learners, which required rapid staffing adjustments and increased EL services. She said the building is more than 70 years old and described recurring internet and electrical reliability problems that impede instruction.

Why it matters: School leaders told the board these instructional gains are fragile without continued staffing and capital support. Tannehill and Chavez urged consideration of district-level capital funding — including the possibility of a bond — to replace aging roofs, HVAC and other infrastructure.

Quotes and context: Tannehill described the Walk to Read model as a targeted, phonics-based grouping that allows rapid, frequent intervention: “For 30 minutes, it’s intense, focused and intentional intervention,” she said. On facilities, Tannehill said, “Our school’s 70-plus years old. You can feel it.”

Provenance: Presentation by Humboldt Elementary leadership and Q&A (transcript segments beginning SEG 324 through SEG 1595).

Ending: The board thanked the presenters and asked staff to include facility needs in the district’s capital project discussions.