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Directors outline literacy, behavior and special-education plans as Summers County seeks improvement on state targets
Summary
District directors updated the board on literacy and numeracy initiatives, Tier 3/4 special-education interventions, teacher training and a five-year grant aimed at improving alternate-assessment outcomes; staff said the alternate assessment rate is above the 1% state/national target and they are developing improvement plans.
District directors briefed the Summers County Board of Education on Dec. 10 about programs and training intended to boost student achievement and address special-education assessment targets.
Miss Jones and the county academic team described a set of coordinated literacy and math steps, including wider use of the Wilson Reading System in special-education classrooms, Orton-Gillingham-aligned supports, purchased ISL licenses for targeted students, and a state-supported dyslexia "train the trainer" session planned for the coming Friday. They said every elementary special-education teacher now has Wilson training and that the district has trained staff at middle and high school for continuity.
The directors emphasized the district's five-year grant for intensified interventions. Year two priorities include establishing Tier 3 interventions for literacy and creating supports for students with moderate-to-severe disabilities (Tier 4) to provide equitable access to a modified curriculum aligned to the general education standards. A grant-funded graduation coach was noted as working two periods daily at the high school to support at-risk students.
Directors also discussed state assessment reporting and an alternate-assessment threshold. "We have been identified as needing intensive intervention by the state because the national and state goal is only 1% or fewer of our students taking that alternate assessment and we're 2% or more," Miss Jones told the board. She said the district's current alternate-assessment rate is about 2.32% and that small changes in student population can shift the percentage in a small county. The district plans to improve eligibility decisions and provide additional teacher training on alternate-assessment eligibility criteria.
On math and early numeracy, the county numeracy team will implement the state's educator guides and the eight mathematical habits of mind through regular PLCs and monthly specialist meetings. For secondary schools, staff described preparations for SAT School Day for 11th graders, use of targeted practice tools in Bluebook, and tailored ISL skill-practice tied to benchmark performance.
Directors described efforts to expand career-technical education (CTE) access by offering introductory CTE classes to ninth- or tenth-grade students during arena scheduling, allowing students to start certifications earlier and be positioned to complete certification by junior year. Staff said they will continue to manage dual-credit courses by taking postsecondary syllabi and performing standards alignment before offering the course for credit.
The directors said they will collect baseline pre/post data for the new backward-design lesson plan units and report results to the board after the third nine-week period once observation and assessment data are available.
The board did not take formal votes on the presentations but asked staff to report back with assessment and implementation data once available.
