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Anchorage district reports modest GPA gains, outlines targeted coaching and interventions
Summary
District staff told the board a modest rise in unweighted GPAs — from 55.5% to 57.1% meeting the 2.7 benchmark among high-school students — and described focused strategies for sustaining gains, including new graduation coaches funded by federal Title grants targeted to high-need schools.
Anchorage School District officials told the board April 21 that focused efforts on ninth-grade transitions and targeted interventions are producing modest gains in cumulative GPA metrics and on-track-to-graduate indicators.
District leaders said the overall percentage of students with an unweighted GPA of 2.7 or higher improved from 55.5% to 57.1%. Staff credited investments in ninth-grade programming, guaranteed experiences, PLC work among teachers and new graduation-coach positions for the gains.
Sean Prince, senior director of teaching and learning, said the district’s strategy rests on four pillars: instructional leadership, strong classroom instruction, district-level supports that enable classroom practice, and clear communication. He highlighted Monday PLC meetings where teachers align scope and sequence and target students who are falling behind.
Assessment director Deian Carroll described how the district segments student GPAs into bands (below 1.5; 1.5–1.99; 2.0–2.49; 2.5–2.69; 2.7+). Carroll told the board the majority of students are 2.5 or above overall, while approximately 40% of students fall below 2.5 and about 19% of students have a GPA below 1.99; staff will provide disaggregated supplemental data to the board.
On interventions: staff described attendance work, targeted supports where students struggle in one or two classes, personalized casework by student-support specialists, longitudinal English-language-development programming for ELL students, and a new graduation-coach role aimed at tracking students from ninth grade through graduation.
Funding note: board member Lessons asked where graduation coaches would be paid from; administration said the positions are repurposed from federal Title grants subject to federal rules (they cannot be used to supplant classroom teacher positions), and will be targeted to four or five high schools with the lowest graduation rates.
What’s next: staff will provide a supplemental, disaggregated report showing progress by grade and GPA quintile. Board members asked for continued focus on ninth-grade transitions, supports for students near the 2.7 cutoff, and clarity about the sustainability of reforms under current budget constraints.
