Principal reports improved screening and lower incident totals at Grand Rapids High School

Grand Rapids High School Principal Hofstead presented the building's state-of-the-building report, highlighting screening and intervention work and an overall decrease in discipline referrals.

Hofstead said the building is using STAR screeners twice a year and reported reading growth up about 13% and math growth up around 5% from the fall to winter windows; he said 51 ninth-graders were targeted for reading interventions in semester 2 and that an interventionist was added this year to provide pull-out support. "We had 40 students receiving reading interventions based on our STAR data semester 1," he said, and added that 51 students are targeted for semester 2.

On behavior data, Hofstead said the total number of incidents the building staff are working on was 708 at the time of the report, but he emphasized a year-over-year decline: "We're down 462 incidents from last year at this time," he said, attributing the change to classroom-managed strategies and increased intervention work.

Hofstead noted SEL screening results showing 1.9% of students in the high-risk category, about 16.3% moderate, and a majority at lower-risk levels; he described mandatory reentry meetings with parents for suspensions and a push to expand academic recovery programming for students not passing classes. Board members asked several follow-up questions about screening participation, the Read Act requirement and how the district encourages students to engage with screeners; Hofstead said screening provides valuable data and that teachers and counselors follow up on high-risk results.

The board thanked the principal for the report and asked administration to keep focusing on screening participation and targeted interventions.