Williston High principal outlines growth, dual-credit gains and new tutoring programs

Williston High School Principal Audrey Larson told the school board on Feb. 9 that the high school is growing and expanding academic pathways, reporting 1,349 students enrolled now and a projection of about 1,441 next year.

"We have 1,349 students that are enrolled currently," Larson said, and she described a 594-enrollment dual-credit partnership with Wilson State College that lets some students pursue an AA or AS while completing high school. She credited staff for work on graduation reporting and said the school recently came off targeted support status after improvements in graduation rate and 'choice ready' measures.

Larson outlined new course offerings — theater and ceramics — and said the school is strengthening CTE education pathways. She highlighted freshman-team interventions and Community Connect supports for students with intensive needs, noting that 48 students have participated in Community Connect this year.

On the biggest academic challenges, Larson said incoming ninth-grade algebra readiness remains a concern. "Our freshman coming in in the fall 97% we're below," she said, describing a large share of students entering below state expectations in algebra. Larson said the difficulty is widespread across demographic groups, not limited to new students from outside the district.

Larson and assistant principals described two targeted support strategies: a paid peer-tutoring pilot that hired 10 upperclassmen who completed background checks and onboarding, and a Tutor-by-Teacher program that assigns small groups to certified online instructors. The peer tutors undergo interviews and training and "they're learning at the same time," Larson said; staff reported about 25–30 students on tutoring lists at a time and early qualitative reports that students feel the tutoring helped them pass assessments.

Dr. Schneider and other staff said the Tutor-by-Teacher program replaces one elective for participating students and has shown about a 10 percent average growth from pre- to post-assessment in pilot subjects. "Forty-three percent of the daily exit tickets over the course of the program showed mastery," staff reported when summarizing early outcomes.

Board members pressed administrators about flex time logistics and whether that period is mandatory. Larson acknowledged scheduling and supervision challenges — "we don't have the staff to man our 38 doors" — and said the district is exploring schedule changes to improve participation and connect intervention time to credit.

The presentation also noted work on school culture, including monthly challenges and student recognition programs, and a CTE-linked career co-op that could expand tutoring-for-credit opportunities with elementary schools. The board thanked administrators for the report and asked staff to return with data and implementation details if plans change.

The presentation ran into a wide-ranging question-and-answer period during which board members sought additional data on demographics, participation rates and plans to scale tutoring and interventions.

Next steps: administrators said they will continue monitoring pilot outcomes and report further data and scheduling options to the board at a future meeting.