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Parent asks Oyster River for five years of deidentified gender data to examine gaps for boys
Summary
A parent asked the Oyster River school board to publish five years of deidentified student outcome data by gender (GPA, AP, attendance, discipline, special‑education, graduation and post‑high‑school pathways) and asked the board to hold a public conversation and pilot interventions if disparities exist.
During public comment on Jan. 21, parent Micah Stark asked the Oyster River Coop School District to provide five years of deidentified data broken down by gender across academic and discipline metrics and to commit to a public discussion of findings and potential responses.
"If we truly are one of the best districts in the state, then we should want to know this data and be willing to talk openly about it," Stark told the board, requesting deidentified five‑year distributions for GPA, representation at top of class, honors and AP participation, attendance, discipline, special‑education and 504 plans, graduation and post‑high‑school pathways.
Stark said the request was not about blame but about identifying potential gaps where boys and young men may be struggling nationally and locally. He asked the board to (1) provide the requested deidentified data, (2) commit to a public conversation about findings, and (3) adopt a collaborative, evidence‑based approach to address any identified gaps.
Superintendent Dr. Shaps said the district would post responses to budget and community questions on the website in the following 48 hours and reiterated the district’s commitment to data‑informed planning; no formal board motion was made to release the requested dataset during the Jan. 21 meeting.
Next steps: The district did not commit to the specific five‑year dataset at the Jan. 21 meeting. Parents and Stark may follow up with the superintendent’s office to request the deidentified data and to ask the board to schedule a public forum if the data are provided.
