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Spring Grove officials outline multi-school plan to boost reading and math, target third‑grade proficiency
Summary
District leaders presented coordinated K–12 plans to strengthen foundational reading and math across elementary, intermediate, middle and high schools, emphasizing data tools, common materials and a growth-focused goal that students make at least one year’s growth.
District administrators used a standing-room agenda item to outline a coordinated plan across all buildings aimed at improving foundational literacy and math instruction.
At the elementary level, Dr. Fissell said the district is doubling down on MTSS and stronger, consistent Tier 1 instruction, adding that “our goal is to really make sure that what we're doing in our classroom meets the needs of at least 80% of our students.” Administrators described adopting common K–6 math materials and piloting ELA programs to meet upcoming state structured‑literacy mandates for 2027–28.
Assistant superintendent Doug White framed the work as a growth strategy rather than an immediate proficiency fix: he said the district is emphasizing “the growth piece” and setting incremental targets so teachers can measure progress rather than chase an unattainable single‑year jump.
At the intermediate and middle schools, leaders described increased use of diagnostic tools (IXL at SGI; Firefly and CDTs at the middle school) to identify students’ instructional levels and to protect time for small‑group instruction. Kelly, an SGI administrator, explained the intended class structure: “The idea is 40 minutes is whole grade… The second 30 to 40 minutes should be pulling small groups,” with the second block used for differentiated remediation or enrichment.
Christian, the high‑school principal, described structural changes at the secondary level—block scheduling and a “mission control” period for targeted interventions—combined with department scoreboards that track the specific skills students must master. He said the student dashboard and risk‑scoring are intended to let teachers “make that target intervention rather than just be kind of a random everybody do this.”
Why it matters: administrators argued the district must align instruction and data across buildings so student learning stacks year‑to‑year instead of fragmenting across classrooms. The board asked for follow‑up materials, including the department scoreboards and benchmarks that will be used to measure progress.
What’s next: principals will return with end‑of‑year data and recommendations for adjustments in the spring; the board will discuss any proposed curriculum adoptions or pilot expansions at future meetings.
