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Superintendent says DPS preschoolers more than twice as likely to be kindergarten-ready, board presses for more data
Summary
Superintendent Lawrence presented kindergarten readiness (KRA) results showing a districtwide rebound and a large readiness gap between students who attended Dayton Public Schools preschools (35.1% demonstrating readiness) and those who did not (14.1%); board members and staff requested further breakdowns and follow-up reports.
Superintendent Lawrence told the Dayton Public School Board that district kindergarteners’ performance on the state-required Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA) improved overall, with roughly 70% of students in the district categorized as either "emerging" or "demonstrating" readiness and a districtwide 3.3 percentage-point gain compared with the prior fiscal year.
Lawrence and district staff said school-level gains were uneven but notable: Charity Adams rose about 19 percentage points and Horace Mann about 13.9 points, while the district as a whole showed a modest rebound after a decline the year before. "Seventy percent of the district students that are in kindergarten were either emerging or demonstrating readiness, and nearly 1 in 4 of the students were showing demonstrating readiness," Superintendent Lawrence said during the presentation.
The superintendent highlighted a district analysis that matched students who attended Dayton Public Schools preschools with their kindergarten outcomes. Of the 370 students who both attended DPS preschool and completed the KRA, 35.1% demonstrated readiness, compared with 14.1% demonstrating readiness among students who did not attend DPS preschool. "Based upon that data, we can see that DPS preschoolers were more than twice as likely to be ready for kindergarten," Lawrence said.
Board members asked for more detailed breakdowns. One member asked whether the district could identify how many preschoolers were in the Preschool Promise program and whether readiness differed for students who attended one versus two years of preschool. Staff said a survey sent in the first days of kindergarten to collect preschool attendance (DPS preschool, Head Start, daycare) was being tallied by Preschool Promise and the district would request that report and drill down further in the student information system.
District staff and the superintendent also discussed assessment measures beyond proficiency rates, including performance-index metrics and MAP interim assessments. The presentation emphasized using a performance index to reflect all students rather than only counting those rated proficient.
Why it matters: board members framed the readiness scores as an early indicator that can shape preschool and kindergarten programming, parent engagement and partnerships. Several members urged that the district use the KRA findings to refine preschool outreach, expand programs such as Ready, Set, Grow and coordinate with community partners that provide summer enrichment.
The board asked staff to return with more disaggregated data (Preschool Promise participation, number of years of preschool attendance, and cross-tabulation with Ready, Set, Grow and other programs) so members can better understand drivers of the readiness gap. The district committed to follow up with the Preschool Promise report and to provide additional drilldowns on request.
The presentation and the Q&A concluded without a formal vote tied to the KRA data; the board recorded the presentation and directed staff to produce the requested breakdowns.
