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East Haddam schools report strong elementary gains but flag high‑school testing as a target
Summary
District administrators reported notable elementary improvements — including a jump in third‑grade Smarter Balanced scores — and falling chronic absenteeism, while the high school identified declines in SAT/NGSS performance and urged closer attention to participation and pathways as budget planning approaches.
East Haddam school leaders presented a mixed set of results to the Board of Education on Dec. 10, 2025, highlighting strong elementary gains and district efforts to reduce chronic absenteeism while naming high‑school performance on standardized measures as a priority for 2026.
Administrators said the district’s elementary schools posted an accountability index above 90 and that third‑grade results improved substantially: Megan Peterson, elementary principal, told the board that third‑grade Smarter Balanced ELA proficiency rose from about 50% to 66.2% year‑over‑year and math proficiency from about 58.3% to 69.1%. Peterson credited curriculum implementation (the Bookworms reading curriculum), interim assessments and expanded professional learning as drivers of the gains and said the elementary achieved a 100% participation rate on Smarter Balanced testing this past year.
Wendy McCabe, People Services Director, framed the district’s NextGen accountability system and explained that “high‑need” subgroup scores (special education, multilingual learners, economically disadvantaged) are reported separately and can be suppressed for privacy when subgroups are very small. She emphasized that the index blends 12 indicators — achievement, growth, chronic absenteeism, AP/dual enrollment, on‑track/graduation and others — and that administrators examine both all‑student and high‑need results to close gaps.
Middle‑school leaders said schedule changes that extend academic blocks and a strengthened MTSS (Multi‑Tiered System of Supports) approach have enabled more targeted interventions. Raina Northcut, middle‑school principal, said the school raised its performance index modestly and has instituted weekly attendance‑monitoring meetings, home‑visit options and partnership work with youth and family services to address chronic absenteeism.
At the high school, Chris Eckert, principal, told the board the school’s overall accountability index rose to 81.7 from 76, but he and assistant principal Allison Stroley identified the performance index in ELA, math and science — which includes SAT and NGSS measures — as a target area. Eckert said the percent of students meeting SAT benchmarks is mixed (for example, a 64% meets/exceeds rate on one SAT benchmark figure was cited for a junior cohort) and that the school’s SAT/NGSS participation and scores were affected by small subgroup counts, testing fatigue and differing student post‑secondary plans. “When a student’s future plan does not include college, the incentive to attempt a high‑stakes SAT in a single testing window can be lower,” a high‑school administrator said.
Board members pressed for detail on participation and subgroup reporting. Administrators explained privacy rules that suppress subgroup reporting when fewer than 20 students fall into a category and said district staff can inspect secure, student‑level results when needed to plan instruction and interventions. The high school reported strong AP/CTE access and high graduation and on‑track rates; those areas were flagged as strengths even as some index components are addressed.
Across the district, leaders pointed to attendance progress: middle‑ and elementary‑school administrators described declines in chronic absenteeism attributed to persistent outreach (letters, calls, attendance teams), targeted interventions and cross‑building consistency of messaging about attendance. Administrators said they use PowerSchool analytics to monitor trends and to schedule early supports for students who begin trending toward chronic absence.
The board requested longitudinal and subgroup trend data to understand whether recent changes are sustained and how FY27 budget choices could support targeted interventions. Superintendent [name not stated] said strategic‑plan work will continue in January and administrators will bring more detailed budget and program options to the business and planning committee in early January.
The board did not vote on new policy in the presentation; it accepted the administrators’ reports and plans to return with deeper analyses of the high‑school test results, subgroup detail where permitted by privacy rules, and specific budget options to address the targeted index areas.
