Students showcase STEM projects; principals report improved benchmarks and wider use of class regulation practices

At the start of the meeting the board recognized student work and extracurricular achievements across the district, including a fifth‑grade STEM demonstration that used 3D‑printed blocks and coded robots to navigate a maze. Board members praised the multidisciplinary project and thanked teachers for integrating hands‑on design and coding into the classroom.

Elementary leadership reported winter STAR benchmark results showing gains overall but a relative lag in fourth‑grade math. Principals said teachers are using a new curriculum support (Lumos Learning) to tailor standards‑based guided practice and plan interventions.

Administrators described a recently completed 12‑hour Regulated Classroom training for several teachers designed to give staff short, rhythmic activities to help students re‑regulate during lessons. The principal noted the district has already seen a decline in office referrals and detentions: second‑quarter detentions fell from 26 last year to six this year, and office referrals fell from 21 to five (reported figures during the meeting). Staff tied those trends to consistent restorative practices, community circles and targeted behavioral support from a named behavior specialist, Kayla Carlson.

Secondary staff reported professional learning focused on AI and classroom practice. One teacher demonstrated a method to surface pasted vs. typed content in Google Docs to help identify possible large pasted passages and described a 10% heuristic used in the classroom to prompt further review. Board members discussed the limits of detection tools and the need for collaborative conversations with students rather than punitive first responses.

The board thanked students and staff for the presentations and asked administrators to return with follow‑up data showing the effect of new interventions on referrals and academic outcomes.