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District reports reading and math gains but urgent early-literacy gaps; leaders promise phonics, interventions and teacher-leader supports
Summary
District staff told the board that I-Ready results show reading proficiency rose from 25% to 36% and math from 18% to 31% (fall to winter), but early-literacy screeners (mCLASS/DIBELS and Lectura) reveal many K–1 students need intensive support; the district will emphasize daily systematic phonics, small-group interventions and reading teacher leaders.
West Contra Costa Unified School District staff on April 29 presented interim student-achievement data that showed measurable gains in I-Ready reading and math but persistent and urgent early-literacy needs in kindergarten through second grade.
District leaders said I-Ready results for grades 3–12 showed an increase in students at or above grade level in reading (from 25% in fall to 36% in winter) and in math (from 18% to 31%). Gains were visible across multiple grades, with some middle- and high-school grades showing substantial movement. "Grade 9 moved 27 to 37% (in the green), and grade 10 moved from 23 to 34%," said Esau Rosco (ELMA director), summarizing the midyear shifts.
At the same time, the district’s early-literacy screener (mCLASS/DIBELS) and its Spanish counterpart (Lectura) painted a more concerning picture for the youngest students. Sanji Bell, director of curriculum and instruction, said kindergarten had the greatest share of students classified as “well below” benchmark at midyear. "At the beginning of the year our kindergarteners were around 43% in the well-below category," Bell said, and first-grade proportions held largely steady while second grade showed stronger midyear outcomes (second grade at or above increased to 51%).
District staff outlined three immediate actions: center and strengthen Tier 1 instruction with explicit daily systematic phonics aligned to the science of reading; intensify small-group interventions for students at risk; and act more responsively to data by regrouping students midyear and increasing progress monitoring cycles. The district has trained roughly 200 K–2 teachers on the screener and launched a reading teacher-leader partnership with county-office support to help translate screener data into targeted instruction.
Superintendent and instructional leaders also stressed parent partnerships and early enrollment in TK/preschool to build foundational skills. The presentation included school-level appendices and indicated the district will continue monthly monitoring and site support.
What’s next: staff said they will push site-level implementation of phonics-based foundational blocks, increase small-group intervention time, and return with further data and implementation updates to the board.
