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Lincoln Elementary highlights gains, principal outlines phonics pilot that boosted struggling readers
Summary
Principal Harrison Sandoval told the board Lincoln Elementary saw gains in ELA and math and described an eight-week, in-school phonics intervention for a small fifth-grade cohort that showed measurable growth; board members praised the results and asked about scale-up and participation rates.
Lincoln Elementary Principal Harrison Sandoval presented academic and attendance metrics Feb. 17 and highlighted targeted interventions the site is using to accelerate learning.
Sandoval reported improvements in ELA and math proficiency across several grades, a drop in chronic absenteeism, steady reclassification rates for English learners, and strong winter iReady and CAST diagnostic results in selected grades. He described a small-group phonics pilot for five-to-eight weeks that met four days per week and produced substantial gains for participating students; Sandoval said the nine fifth-grade pilot students registered score increases and several advanced one or more grade-level bands.
A fifth-grade student, Sofia Cruz, opened the Lincoln spotlight with remarks about school community and teacher support, and several board members commended teachers and volunteers for the gains. Board members asked about the share of students completing assessments and whether the phonics intervention could be replicated; Sandoval said assessment participation is near-universal for the winter window and staff were planning to expand targeted interventions to other grades based on the pilot's outcomes.
Board members asked for details about minutes-per-student and oversight of volunteers; Sandoval said volunteers provided most of the in-class instructional minutes for the pilot, with teachers and a resource teacher supervising data and instruction. Superintendent and staff praised the school's data-driven approach and cited Prop 28 funding to expand music and arts enrichment.
The spotlight concluded with the board congratulating Lincoln staff and students and the superintendent and board requesting follow-up information on pilot scale-up plans and completion/participation data.
