Kenton County principals report KSA gains, special‑education progress and literacy initiatives

Principals from four Kenton County schools reported to the Kenton County School Board on academic gains, curriculum changes and supports for students with disabilities, saying state test results and local surveys point to steady improvement while attendance and peer-to-peer behavior remain concerns.

At the start of the presentations, one presenter who spoke for an elementary school thanked board members and said the school “maintained our high achievement status” on the state KSA assessment, remaining in the green band across math, reading, social studies, science and writing. The presenter said the school aims for National Blue Ribbon recognition and has an action plan focused on literacy, interventions and teacher collaboration. “It’s an honor to lead this community that I absolutely love,” the presenter said.

Turkey Foot Middle School’s principal reported the building moved from yellow into the green category and that the school’s federal TSI (Targeted Support and Improvement) designation in English learners and students with disabilities has been removed. The principal cited a 2 percentage-point gain in reading and a 4 percentage-point gain in math, described an 18.4‑point increase on an indicator for special‑education performance, and said students reporting bullying as a problem decreased—“we saw a 4 percent increase in kids who said it wasn’t a problem,” she said. She highlighted the district’s 1:1 device initiative, use of Desmos for middle-school math instruction and a character-education curriculum to address behavior.

LaFawn Benton, principal of Woodland Middle School, said Woodland showed growth in reading, math, science, social studies and writing, noting writing scores were 19 percentage points above the state average and a 6.72 percent increase in students meeting transition-readiness measures from the prior year. Benton said 96 percent of Woodland students report that at least one adult in the school will listen to them, and she described continuing work in PLCs, RTI time and IEP monitoring to close achievement gaps.

Jason Lareau, principal of Summit View Academy, said the middle-school side of his building moved into the blue category, with an indicator score that rose from about 52 to roughly 81.3, and that Summit View is no longer classified as TSI for students with disabilities. Lareau credited district-provided instructional resources for gains in reading and math and highlighted a marked improvement in middle-school writing—from 36 percent proficient/distinguished previously to 70 percent—while noting the elementary side dropped to yellow after a 25 percent decrease in elementary writing. He also reported survey results showing 98 percent of students said the school is a caring place and 99 percent said adults care for them, while 76 percent of students said there are peers who are mean or hurtful—an issue he said the school is addressing with clubs, character work and adult advocacy.

Across the presentations, principals described similar strategies: wider use of high‑quality instructional materials (including HMH for literacy and Desmos for math), systematic common formative assessments, monthly data dives for students with disabilities, co‑teaching models, learning walks by administrators and targeted intervention blocks during the school day. Several principals said the district’s professional development helped shift focus to stronger lesson planning and clearer formative-assessment calendars so teachers can adjust instruction before summative tests.

None of the presentations announced formal board actions or votes. Next steps identified by principals included continued data monitoring, targeted supports for students with disabilities and efforts to raise attendance rates to district targets.

(Attributions: Presenter; Principal, Turkey Foot Middle School; LaFawn Benton, principal, Woodland Middle School; Jason Lareau, principal, Summit View Academy.)