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Poplar Creek teachers credit flexible grouping for notable early-grade gains
Summary
Poplar Creek Elementary staff told the New Berlin School District board that flexible grouping, co-teaching and frequent progress monitoring produced measurable gains this year — including reading fluency and students exiting interventions — and outlined plans to expand the approach.
At a New Berlin School District board meeting, Poplar Creek Elementary teachers and administrators credited a new “flexible grouping” model with measurable gains in reading and math for third graders and younger students.
Dr. Samira Manzikani, associate principal at Poplar Creek, told the board the school uses multiple measures — including the Forward exam, universal screeners, IEP progress monitoring and classroom intervention data — to identify growth and said the approach focuses on getting students out of formal intervention. “We have a lot to be proud of in celebrations in reading,” Manzikani said, noting oral reading fluency rose from 56% to 73% in one measure and that younger readers increased on a letter-word-sounds fluency assessment from 52% to 86%.
Becky, a third-grade teacher who spoke for the grade-level team, described flexible grouping as placing students into changing groups based on need rather than fixed ability levels. “Flexible grouping means that students are not placed in fixed ability groups,” Becky said. She explained the team uses pre- and post-assessments plus daily exit tickets to adjust groups and pull students into targeted small-group instruction.
A Poplar Creek special-education teacher said co-teaching with classroom teachers has been “an incredible experience,” allowing staff to provide intensive support and then transition students back to whole-class instruction as they reach grade-level expectations. Teachers reported 26 students exited formal intervention since October, and English-learner proficiency on a cited reading measure rose from 37% to 59%.
Presenters described regular Wednesday co-planning, progress monitoring every six to eight weeks and the use of instructional coaches to support teachers. They singled out flexible grouping and co-teaching as key strategies that let teachers meet subgroup needs — students with IEPs and English learners — while maintaining engagement across the grade level.
The presentation included a short video of third graders describing increased confidence and enjoyment of math when learning from different teachers. Poplar Creek staff told the board they plan to expand flexible grouping beyond the initial grade levels next year and to continue using the multiple-measure approach to monitor sustainability.
The board did not take a formal vote on instructional strategy at the meeting; the presentation was part of the administrative team reports and closed with an offer from staff to field questions at the end of the evening.
