Elementary and high school principals outline student growth goals as district tracks enrollment and class size

At the Greater Albany Public School District’s November board meeting, principals from South Shore and Tangent elementaries and leaders from South Albany High School presented school‑level goals and programs designed to raise proficiency, reduce referrals and increase on‑time graduation.

Marcy Beltran, introduced to present on South Shore Elementary, described a three‑year reading goal to increase the share of students at grade level by 10% by June 2026 and a math goal with the same annual improvement target. Beltran described dual‑language assessments (English and Spanish), use of I‑Ready, SBAC and ELPA data, targeted bilingual interventions and a new Spanish curriculum called Mosaiko. She reported increases in ELPA pass rates from 56% to 72% in the noted cohorts and said the school is tracking some weaker fourth‑ and fifth‑grade cohorts for targeted support.

Jana Pierce, principal at Tangent Elementary, summarized goals including an 11% increase target in math proficiency (from 54% to a 65% year‑end target) and strategies funded by Title I for curriculum and small‑group interventions. Pierce said Tangent has a relatively low percentage (about 19%) of students two or more grade levels behind (≈18 students) and described a new SEL/character curriculum and an attendance incentive program that awards classroom tokens redeemable for books from a vending machine.

At the secondary level, South Albany High School principal Chad Angel and his team set multi‑year targets: raise on‑time graduation from 86% to 93%, increase freshmen on‑track rates from roughly 71% to 92% over three years, and lift regular attenders from 54% to 66%. Angel described interventions — Red Hawks Rising after‑school supports, Build the Nest credit recovery, night school for credit recovery, houses for freshmen to increase adult connections, and weekly data review PLC structures — and noted a $12,000 Albany Public School Foundation grant to support attendance work.

Why it matters: Principals described concrete interventions tied to data review cycles that the district will use to try to reverse dips in proficiency and limit the effect of enrollment declines on classroom composition and services. Several speakers emphasized early and frequent data checks and targeted small‑group instruction as primary levers.

What’s next: Board members asked clarifying questions about cohorts and data and were told that administrative teams will continue to monitor progress and report back in future meetings.