Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Academics topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
District reports test-score gains, approves early-literacy training and tables proposed dental program
Summary
Board heard strong benchmark gains at multiple schools, approved a phonological-awareness training partnership for preK–2 teachers, discussed targeted interventions for sixth grade, and tabled a proposed school-based dental partnership pending vendor billing assurances.
Board members and school leaders reviewed spring benchmark and progress-check results and approved a district-funded literacy intervention for early grades while asking for more information on a proposed dental partnership.
An elementary principal reported substantial year-to-date gains in reading and math benchmark categories — for example, one third-grade reading group rose from 47% to 71% green, and math green percentages rose across grades — and said consultants remain confident the district can make further gains before state testing.
Middle-school staff described retaking progress checks under full testing conditions, reporting a score improvement on a later administration (one example rose near 323 from a prior lower score), and identified sixth grade as the area needing targeted supports. Staff said they will use performance consultants to run small-group boot camps for students scoring at the '3' proficiency level to push them to a '4' and thereby gain proficiency points on state measures.
The board approved a district-funded partnership with the Institute for Learning and Research (AIM) to provide phonological-awareness training for roughly 54 preK–2 educators plus principals and assistants; the program will use AIM’s online modules combined with facilitated in-person sessions starting in August. District staff said AIM’s work focuses on the sound structure of language, a foundational skill for decoding and spelling, and that the effort will be funded from district operating funds.
Members also discussed transportation improvements: the transportation office reported new drivers, refreshed rosters, and a messaging plan that can alert parents to bus delays; maintenance work and pre-summer PMs were described to prepare buses for the fall.
On student health services, the board reviewed a proposed memorandum of understanding with a mobile dental provider (MHS local dental) that would provide screenings and cleanings with parental consent. Several trustees raised concerns about prior third-party billing incidents with a different vendor (Coastal) and asked the prospective provider to provide written assurances that parents would not receive unexpected bills. The board voted to table the dental partnership and asked staff to bring more documentation and to invite the vendor to the next meeting.
The meeting closed with routine business; board members asked staff to report back with vendor documentation, assessment follow-up plans and project-closeout details for the culinary/CTE building.
