Elementary principals spotlight math growth and social‑emotional learning in school improvement plans

Mercer Island elementary principals on Monday told the school board they are prioritizing measurable math growth and social‑emotional learning this year and outlined steps to tighten classroom instruction and monitor progress.

Megan Isaacson, principal of West Mercer, said the district’s shared goal is for “students are making a year’s growth in a year’s time,” and described professional learning communities, targeted small‑group instruction and regular progress monitoring as key supports. Island Park’s principal said their team focused on depth‑of‑knowledge performance tasks to track students who begin the year at or above grade level but are not making expected growth.

School leaders cited several common strategies: success or intervention blocks where teachers regroup students by need; watch lists led by instructional coaches to flag students who miss growth benchmarks; and standards‑based progress checks between major diagnostics. Northwood’s principal said the school added a second intervention block for grades 3–5 to provide a “double dose” of support, while Lake Ridge’s new principal, Jennifer Cleaves, described a 90‑day entry plan and a PRIME intervention model (Practice, Reengagement, Intervention, Differentiation, Enrichment) aimed at meeting students across the achievement spectrum.

District staff and principals emphasized using multiple data sources rather than a single diagnostic. One presenter said the I‑Ready diagnostic provides a useful checkpoint but that classroom assessments and performance tasks are being triangulated to produce a fuller picture of growth. Principals also described pilot enrichment opportunities for students above grade level — either extending grade‑level work or accelerating students into next‑grade content — and trials to measure which approaches produce durable gains.

Board members asked about year‑to‑year cohort variation and demographic patterns in growth. Principals replied that cohort differences, pandemic effects and curricular changes can all affect measured growth, and that they plan to analyze cross‑school patterns this spring. Staff outlined how family reports and Skyward access let parents see diagnostic results and standards mastery checkpoints and said teachers and principals hold follow‑up conferences when more context is needed.

The board did not take action on the principals’ plans; the session was a district update and Q&A. Several board members praised the increased cross‑school alignment and asked staff to return with outcome data after the next diagnostic cycle.