District touts state report‑card gains while flagging middle‑grade ELA and student incidents

District staff presented the 2025 state report card and highlighted areas of strength: percent on‑time graduation nearing 90%, college‑and‑career readiness around 85%, and several schools at three‑year highs on multiple metrics. Presenters singled out Reuben Elementary for outperforming statewide metrics and identified Whitmire and Newberry middle/high schools among the most improved.

At the same time, presenters flagged concerns in secondary ELA: English II performance declined districtwide from 83% passing in 2022 to 77% in 2025 and sixth‑grade ELA trails the state by 9.7 percentage points (and sixth‑grade math by 4.3 points). Staff said the shift in how ELA was measured this year (value‑added rather than target points) affected comparisons and called for focused instructional support in secondary ELA.

Student services reported year‑over‑year changes: students categorized as truant dropped from 245 to 137 (a decrease of 108 students), alternative‑school enrollment decreased from 44 to 38, expulsions recommendations rose from 29 to 32, and recorded student incidents increased from 258 to 308 (an increase of about 50 incidents). Student‑services staff attributed truancy improvement to a new case‑manager deployment model and heightened attendance monitoring.

Board members asked clarifying questions about the definitions behind state reporting codes and the accounting of revenues in the treasurer's cash‑flow report; staff provided explanations about encumbrances, food‑service indirect cost accounting and the classification codes used on the state report card.

The board did not take a policy vote on the report card metrics; staff will continue data analysis and recommend targeted instructional adjustments for middle‑grade ELA and supports for student incidents.