Gardner principals report gains in SEL, literacy and attendance as district eyes remaining achievement gaps

Earl Martin, principal of Gardner Elementary School, Mike Marcus, principal of Gardner High School, and Brian Cody, the new principal at Gardner Middle School, told the Gardner School Committee on Feb. 9 that their schools are making measurable progress on social‑emotional learning, Tiered supports and literacy but still face notable academic gaps.

"Eighty‑eight percent of our students need only Tier 1 support," Martin said, presenting the elementary school’s 2024–2027 improvement plan and data on discipline and climate surveys. He said discipline referrals have declined and that a student survey found 92.5% of students report they enjoy coming to school; nearly 97% said they could identify three trusted adults. Martin also described adopting a new SEL curriculum and monitoring academic gains with DIBELS and STAR assessments. He reported about 32% of elementary students remain well below grade‑level reading and said closing that red band is a top priority.

At the high school, Marcus said the school meets four of its 10 stated improvement outcomes and is making progress on the rest. He said daily Tier 1 interventions are yielding lower failure rates and reduced office discipline referrals. Marcus reported 56 seniors enrolled in the district’s early‑college program and that participation in career and technical partnerships is growing: "so far this year 85 percent of our students are only receiving Tier 1 services," he said. Parental satisfaction, Marcus added, has risen from 74% last year to 79% so far this school year.

Cody said Gardner Middle School has hired 18 new staff members and is using shared instructional coaches and targeted RTI interventions to raise reading comprehension. He presented discipline metrics showing students with 0–1 referrals rose from 56% to 73% year‑over‑year and said students with six or more referrals fell from 27.8% to 13.6%, crediting consistent implementation of Tiered supports and SEL programming.

Committee members and staff linked the improvements to the district’s MTSS framework and focused curriculum choices. The presentations also included repeated references to students with disabilities and multilingual learners as populations requiring continuing attention and specialized supports.

The principals said families will be engaged further through spring events and a parent input council that will review climate‑survey results. No formal committee action was taken on the presentations; principals said work will continue through implementation of the district plan.

Next steps: school leaders will continue monitoring implementation fidelity, analyze family climate survey results at the parent input council and focus on targeted interventions for students reading well below grade level.