Port Angeles High’s freshman-success program reports gains; on-track rate reaches 81%

At the Port Angeles School District board meeting on May 7, co-presenters Tiffany Lore and Kim Johnston summarized four years of work to improve ninth-grade outcomes and described measurable gains that they credited to a coordinated Freshman Success program.

Johnston said the district’s on-track-to-graduate rate for freshmen has climbed from roughly 60% four years ago to about 81% in the most recent semester. She highlighted targeted interventions and the summer bridge program, called Ruff Rider Launch, noting 81 students registered this year and 60 earned credit through the program. "We cut that in half," Johnston said when referencing the IEP on-track gap, which she said fell from a 31% gap to 15% after interventions.

Presenters described a three-phase model — Start Strong (summer bridge), Hold Strong (in-year academic contracts and tiered supports) and Finish Strong (spring tutoring and incentives) — plus systems for progress monitoring, cross-department collaboration and equity-focused practices. They also cited external recognition: district staff were invited to present at the Center for High School Success and the program was named a national exemplar.

Board members praised the outcomes and asked about scaling and sustaining the work. Presenters said future steps include increasing Ruff Rider Launch participation, aligning the summer standards with CTE to reduce student resistance and expanding clear retake/recovery expectations across departments.

The reporting emphasized that these efforts are both instructional and administrative: progress monitoring, teacher collaboration, and family and community engagement are central to the model. Presenters asked the board for continued support and modest resources to sustain the program.