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Lakeside Middle highlights programs, warns of AI-driven math shortcuts; robotics team heads to worlds
Summary
Lakeside Middle School principal Mike Dodson told the board the school is building culture through PBIS and workforce-aligned electives, reported mixed winter MAP changes and attendance near 95%, said AI use in Desmos may have affected math scores, and the district’s robotics team qualified for the world championships.
Lakeside Middle School Principal Mike Dodson told the Lakeside Union School District board that the school is pursuing a three-year plan to move from inquiry to action and deepen student engagement through electives and workforce-aligned pathways.
Dodson said the school launched a campus-wide cell-phone policy (phones collected when seen during bell-to-bell) and instituted tardy sweeps to improve classroom behavior. "We actually policed that by anytime we see cell phones, we take cell phones and it's been very effective," he said.
On academics, Dodson presented fall and winter MAP percentiles and said results were mixed in math: sixth-grade math fell from the 44th to the 42nd percentile while seventh-grade rose to the 53rd and eighth fell to the 55th. He contrasted that with ELA gains, noting sixth and seventh grades improved in winter MAP ELA. Dodson attributed some math performance issues to increased use of a web-based curriculum (Desmos) and students using AI to generate solutions. "One of the things that is happening with this very innovative program is kids are using AI to solve math problems," he said, adding the school plans to pause some web-based approaches and reintroduce more paper-and-pencil work next year.
Dodson also described interventions in math and English (twice-weekly supports for grades 6–8) and said average daily attendance from Aug. 18 to the meeting date was 94.84% (6th 94.73%, 7th 94.71%, 8th 95.06%), short of the district goal of 97%.
The board heard student testimonials and saw a video highlighting electives such as Project Lead The Way, drama, band and agriculture. The meeting included a robotics demonstration: students described the team’s robot mechanisms and explained how a parking mechanism helped them earn a creativity award that qualified the team for the world championships. The board presented a plaque recognizing the robotics team’s achievement.
Why it matters: The presentation combined classroom outcomes (MAP/ELA), behavior and attendance strategies, and extracurricular success. The principal’s note about AI affecting math assignments signals a curricular concern the district may revisit as it aligns instruction and academic integrity with new technologies.
What’s next: Dodson outlined plans to deepen PBIS work, sustain attendance campaigns, and maintain workforce-program alignment. The robotics team is traveling to the world championship and the board requested photos and a future update on the team’s results.
