Kutztown Area SD presents mixed gains in reading and targeted plans for ninth‑grade supports

District administrators told the Kutztown Area School District policy and curriculum committee on Dec. 9 that several student‑achievement measures are trending upward even as the district plans targeted supports for weaker areas.

At a presentation to the committee, an administrator summarized the district’s Future Ready Index data and demographic shifts, saying the district’s English‑learner population was steady while the economically disadvantaged subgroup has risen notably over the past four years. The administrator said those shifts are driven largely by changes in free‑and‑reduced‑price lunch application processes for families arriving from universal‑free districts.

Mrs. Elliker, who presented the special‑education snapshot, said the district serves roughly 310 special‑education students as of Dec. 1 and reported a modest net decline of about six students in the autism category compared with the prior year. She described expansion of kindergarten life‑skills programming this year and said two elementary learning‑support teachers are participating in Orton‑Gillingham training, bringing the district close to full coverage of that multisensory reading intervention.

Kutztown Elementary School principal Mrs. Barnes reported building‑level gains: the school recorded about 69% proficient or advanced in PSSA reading and 66% in PSSA math this year, with STAR assessment trends that typically dip in fall and rebound by the end of the first trimester. Barnes noted the district will continue MTSS interventions where STAR rebounds lag and pointed to initiatives such as lesson‑study cycles and ‘‘cougar clubs’’ as contributors to growing performance and teacher practice.

Presenters described middle‑school results as a mixed picture: Mr. Lynch said ELA proficiency sits around 65% at the middle level while math and some eighth‑grade measures require additional attention. The middle‑school team is expanding data meetings, using advisory time for targeted supports, broadening National Junior Honor Society eligibility to include sixth graders, and restarting student council to build community and academic recognition.

At the high school, Mrs. Brown summarized AP and Keystone outcomes: roughly 70 students took AP exams last year (about 125 tests total) with an average score of 3.4; literature and biology Keystones were strong while algebra trailed, partly because some high‑performing students take Algebra I earlier and do not contribute to the same cohort metric. The district reported an approximate 90% four‑year graduation rate last year, with administrators cautioning that small cohort sizes can magnify year‑to‑year swings.

District leaders said they plan a January committee presentation with a recommendation to collapse ninth‑grade course levels for one year as a targeted, monitored intervention. ‘‘Ninth grade is that entry point where we can provide additional supports through MTSS,’’ an administrator said, adding that the change would be limited to the coming year and reviewed before any longer‑term adoption.

Why it matters: the presentation combined achievement data with concrete operational moves — expanded special‑education life‑skills, structured literacy training, MTSS rollouts and a near‑term proposal for ninth‑grade leveling — all of which will shape instructional planning and budget priorities heading into 2025 and the committee’s January meetings.

The committee did not take a binding vote on academic policy at this meeting; administrators were asked to return in January with detailed course‑level recommendations and any required policy language.