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Wisdom Ridge director Alan Andranga says academy doubled enrollment and ranks among top alternative-learning schools
Summary
Alan Andranga told the Ridgefield School Board that Wisdom Ridge Academy has grown from 117 students in 2022 to about 255 today, has served 317 students this year, and ranks in the top 2% of alternative-learning programs statewide on Smarter Balanced assessments; he outlined CTE pathway work and school-improvement targets for math and ELA.
Alan Andranga, director of alternative learning education and Wisdom Ridge Academy, told the Ridgefield School District board that the districts alternative-learning (AL) program has experienced rapid enrollment growth and posted unusually high state assessment results.
"We currently have 255 students," Andranga said in a presentation to the board, adding that 317 students have attended the program this year and that enrollment has roughly doubled since he began in fall 2022. He described Wisdom Ridge as a multi-district, K12 program that serves students who need flexible schedules: competitive athletes, hospital-bound students, full-time workers and students who are credit-deficient.
Andranga said Wisdom Ridge delivers instruction asynchronously with teachers available via Zoom and on-site supports for students who need them. The district hires K8 teachers who work in the Wisdom Ridge facility, while other content areas are provided through contracted vendors (named in the presentation as Accelerate Ed and E Dynamic).
The director highlighted assessment results that prompted outreach from the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI). According to Andranga, OSPI contacted the program after identifying Wisdom Ridge in the upper ranks of alternative-learning schools on Smarter Balanced assessments.
"They're higher than almost any other ELA or AL school in the state of Washington," Andranga said, describing OSPIs interest and placing Wisdom Ridge in roughly the 98th percentile of AL programs his slides showed.
Andranga also outlined school-improvement goals the academy is pursuing this year: increasing math proficiency for grades 3, 8 and 10 from 26.7% to 40% and raising ELA proficiency for grades 38 and 10 from 60.5% to 78% by the end of the school year. He said strategies include directed in-person support sessions, SBA test-prep, Math Nation tutoring and monthly progress reviews tied to weekly student check-ins.
Board members asked about attendance and assessment logistics. Andranga explained that attendance is recorded through a statewide "weekly check-in" rule: if a student fails to make a required weekly contact with their program advisor, the student is marked absent for the entire school week. He described efforts to increase in-person participation for test prep and interventions.
Andranga said the district has applied to OSPI to approve a CTE graduation pathway at Wisdom Ridge and that materials are submitted and awaiting OSPI review.
The presentation concluded with board questions about curriculum alignment for younger grades and dropout-reengagement outcomes; Andranga said Wisdom Ridge keeps students engaged who otherwise might have left traditional schools and cited examples of students returning to complete graduation requirements.
Dr. Rodriguez and board members thanked Andranga for the presentation; no formal action was required on the report.
