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District reports winter assessment gains but flags chronic absenteeism and equity gaps
Summary
Principals from Amboy, Boom Park and North Little Rock High reported winter interim Atlas gains across ELA, math and science, especially in targeted interventions for the bottom 25 percent, while repeatedly citing chronic absenteeism and wraparound needs as the main barrier to further improvement.
School leaders presented winter interim assessment results to the North Little Rock School Board on March 31, saying growth is evident in several buildings but that chronic absenteeism remains a major obstacle to sustained gains.
Dr. Rogers prefaced the school-by-school presentations and invited principals to describe their progress and next steps. "You're going to see a lot of green tonight because this presentation is about the growth that we've made," Dr. Rogers said while introducing Amboy's report.
Alan Pennington, principal of Amboy Elementary, described year-to-date targets (24% ELA, 25% math, 22% science) and detailed interventions for the district's bottom quartile: targeted tutoring funded by the HIT grant, Atlas boot camps, intensive planning stipends for teachers and data-driven small groups. Pennington said the school exceeded internal growth thresholds in third and fourth grades and credited actionable teacher planning and after-school tutoring for measurable gains.
Denisha Straoud, principal of Boom Park Elementary, reported "upward trends in the right direction," highlighting notable science gains and a drop in chronic absenteeism after more intensive wraparound outreach. Straoud said the school is pursuing a 70% target for bottom-quartile students meeting growth targets — a metric that can add state accountability points toward moving a school’s letter grade.
At the high-school level, Dr. Nadia St. Louis told the board the Center of Excellence and North Little Rock High have different accountability metrics but are pursuing similar strategies: PLC collaboration, boot camps, peer-assessment tools and targeted interventions in biology and math. She reported increases in students scoring at levels 3 and 4 in several courses and emphasized graduation-rate work and readiness indicators as priorities for the high school.
Across presentations, leaders said wraparound services — staff dedicated to family outreach, home visits and resource connections — have helped re-engage chronically absent students but that transportation, basic-needs instability and parental engagement remain significant constraints. Several principals described incentives and outreach strategies, from celebration events to gas cards and mentoring partnerships, intended to boost attendance and ensure students access interventions.
Board members asked detailed questions about data counts, mobility and how summer or late-arriving students affect winter-to-winter comparisons. Officials said differences in fall versus winter totals often reflect student mobility, withdrawals and re-enrollments and that they will continue to refine attendance and assessment tracking ahead of the summative state test.
The district scheduled additional community forums and campus-level communications to explain middle-school reorganization and to publicize interventions available to families as the district approaches spring state testing.
