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Superintendent and administrators report improved attendance, staffing moves and emergency-response work
Summary
Administrators reported a roughly 30% drop in absences after a new attendance plan, noted reading gains and math staffing instability, announced a district medical emergency response team (MERT) rollout, new walkie-talkie procurement, recent hires and the loss of federal Foster Grandparent funding.
Superintendent Wally and building administrators updated the board on start-of-year readiness, academic data and safety preparations.
Jacob reported that reading outcomes are trending positively across the district and credited consistent curriculum and staffing for gains. He said the district is “about five percentage points” above state averages on several measures for reading, while math lagged largely because of turnover in math staffing (one position saw six different teachers over two and a half years). Jacob told the board the district has seen roughly a 30% decrease in absences and tardies since adopting the current attendance plan.
Administrators described safety and emergency preparedness work. Staff confirmed the district is procuring new digital walkie-talkies for staff communication and introduced the district’s medical emergency response team (MERT); Lauren Dodson led the MERT meeting and will present the MERT protocol at building staff meetings. Administration said staff will practice emergency button activation and run scenario drills with building teams.
Other operational details included hiring updates (nine new staff at elementary levels; 16 new certified staff and mentor matches for new teachers), maintenance and grounds work completed this summer, and a notification that federal funding for the Foster Grandparent program would not continue (administrators said they will seek alternatives to sustain volunteer reading support provided by long-time volunteers). Elementary leaders said the school’s attendance is roughly 15 percentage points above the state average; preschool enrollment stood at 71 children in 3K/4K sections.
Administrators emphasized that most changes this year will be incremental refinements rather than major program overhauls and asked the board to support scheduled staff training before students return.
