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District hears elementary and secondary data updates; special education staffing, attendance and a drone-soccer pilot discussed
Summary
Administrators reported K–12 assessment and intervention data, noted gains in K–2 reading while grades 3–5 lag, and highlighted MTSS and special-education staffing challenges. The board heard a STEM 'drone soccer' pilot proposal and discussed attendance increases and possible schedule changes to create intervention time.
Administrators presented building-level academic and student-support updates across the district and described steps the district is taking to address persistent gaps.
At Bruno Elementary School, staff reviewed IXL benchmark data for fall and winter and reported meaningful gains in kindergarten through second grade. Presenters said phonemic-awareness instruction (Heggerty), a new spelling screener and daily intervention blocks have helped early-grade progress, while some third- through fifth-grade cohorts still need more targeted phonics and morphology instruction.
Special-education and MTSS leads said most supports are delivered within general-education settings and highlighted weekly MTSS meetings, small-group pull-outs, and a strategy of matching interventions to student need. They also flagged continuing staffing challenges for teaching assistants and related-service providers (speech, OT, PT), noting regional BOCES shortages have increased district responsibility for providing mandated services.
Secondary administrators reported mixed IXL progress across grades 6–12, described a rise in chronic absenteeism (cited as about 28% at one point), and proposed schedule adjustments — including shorter lunches and added intervention blocks — to create regular time for targeted supports. The high school team said a pending hire for a secondary special-education teacher was before the board for approval that night; the presenter said that vacancy will be removed from staffing needs once the hire is approved.
Separately, an elementary STEM proposal described a drone-soccer elective modeled on another district’s capstone engineering course; materials and a short video were offered to the board for review. The program would combine hands-on drone building, programming, and competition opportunities and could produce certification or extracurricular pathways for students.
What happens next: building leaders will continue progress monitoring and return spring assessment data; staff will pursue the pending special-education hire per board action and work with the board on scheduling pilot plans to create intervention time.
