District outlines two-year plan to address high school's TSI designation

District leaders described a targeted support and improvement (TSI) plan for the high school centered on subgroups of students with disabilities who are not meeting Keystone, attendance, or graduation benchmarks.

Dr. Demo led the presentation, explaining that TSI serves as an early-warning designation and stressing that the plan is intended as a growth process. The proposed interventions are twofold: structured ELA and math tutoring (30-minute sessions, three times weekly) for identified students, with progress monitoring and reduction of intervention as students improve; and an attendance strategy combining adult and peer mentoring, IEP-team attendance intervention meetings, and close, ongoing monitoring of attendance for students with IEPs.

The district set initial goals tied to measurable improvement: reach roughly 20% of participating students demonstrating one year’s academic growth on assessment measures and a 20% reduction in the number of students with IEPs failing to meet attendance expectations. Administrators said exiting TSI typically requires measuring sustained improvement over multiple years and estimated a two-year timeline to document and submit data for removal from the designation.

Board members asked detailed questions about IU (intermediate unit) partnerships and whether the students identified were IU program participants; the administration clarified that many identified students receive district-run services, that IU instructional partners have been helpful and that the designation is not uncommon across nearby districts. Members also probed MTSS alignment; presenters said TSI interventions will be coordinated with MTSS to strengthen Tier 1 instruction and targeted Tier 2 supports.

Next steps: the district will implement tutoring and mentoring in the coming school year, monitor progress, and report progress to the board; board members requested periodic updates and data to evaluate effectiveness.