Essex Elementary presents 2024-25 achievement data and 2025-26 goals focused on reading stamina and targeted math interventions

Principal David Kitzman and Assistant Superintendent Dr. Sarah Brzozowy presented the Essex Elementary School 2024—25 annual report and detailed student achievement data at the Sept. 11 board meeting, outlining strengths, comparative results and schoolwide goals for 2025—6.

Slides shown to the board reported Smarter Balanced ELA proficiency rates by grade and schoolwide figures on the presentation slides. The most recent-year figures on the slides list Grade 3 ELA at 70% meeting benchmark, Grade 4 at approximately 65%, Grade 5 at about 71% and Grade 6 at about 61%; the slide identified schoolwide ELA proficiency at 67% in the most recent year shown. Math slides listed schoolwide Smarter Balanced math proficiency around 66%, with grade-level variation noted by the presenters. Dr. Brzozowy and Kitzman emphasized that cohort and year'to'year shifts can reflect implementation years for curriculum changes and recommended focusing on growth measures as well as proficiency percentages.

Presenters identified specific instructional focus areas: increasing students'reading stamina for complex passages, strengthening collaboration between coaches and special-education staff to align content with IEPs, revising pacing guides for grades 4—6, and prioritizing early intervention. For mathematics, the plan calls for monitoring targeted interventions for the current grade 6 cohort (which performed below earlier cohorts), dividing that cohort for more individualized instruction when appropriate, and teaching reasoning and problem solving through monthly schoolwide lessons. The presentation also detailed action steps including administering iReady diagnostics three times a year, developing individualized learning plans for students below the 25th percentile, expanding small-group instruction within MTSS, and providing professional development for teachers and paraprofessionals on effective Bridges curriculum strategies.

The slides included contextual comparisons with neighboring districts and regional aggregates to illustrate relative performance. The presentation also displayed chronic absenteeism trends; the slides list a recent figure for Essex as 8.4% on the trend slide. Participation in music and arts programs and a roster of clubs and extracurricular activities were noted, and the presentation closed with budget themes for 2026—27: staffing to maintain class sizes, continued professional development for literacy and math, sustained MTSS support, and building upkeep.

No formal board vote on the school goals was recorded in the meeting minutes; the presentation was entered into the record and committee scheduling and next steps were noted for future meetings.