Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Education Curriculum topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Smith‑Green officials propose grade‑6 transitional teacher to plug learning gaps
Summary
At the Feb. 16 board meeting, district curriculum staff proposed creating a licensed grade‑6 transitional teacher position to provide double‑period (90‑minute) reading and math blocks aimed at delivering tier‑2 interventions for students showing proficiency gaps, citing checkpoint data and new state MTSS requirements.
The Smith‑Green Community Schools board heard a request on Feb. 16 to add a licensed grade‑6 transitional teacher to provide targeted, tier‑2 instruction for students entering middle school.
The curriculum presenter told trustees the role would create double‑period grade‑6 classes — 90 minutes of reading or math — to allow smaller, scaffolded instruction and pull‑through interventions for students identified via checkpoint and screener data. “So Melissa and I would like to propose a grade six transition teacher and I submitted a proposal,” the presenter said, describing two double‑period classes that would allow teachers to provide more modeling and small‑group work.
Why it matters: district presenters pointed to a recurring dip in proficiency after fifth grade and new state expectations for multi‑tiered systems of support (MTSS), including required screeners and expanded minutes for tier‑one instruction. The presenter said checkpoint data show Smith‑Green above state averages but signaled persistent cohort declines when students move through grades, making middle‑school transition a priority.
Details of the proposal and staffing: the presenter said the position should be a licensed teacher and estimated class sizes of about 15–20 students in the targeted sections, noting current sixth‑grade enrollment has risen to roughly 100 students. Under the plan, the transitional teacher would teach two double‑period reading classes (90 minutes) and one double‑period math offering to provide tier‑2 instruction; students identified for tier‑2 in fifth grade would be scheduled into those blocks.
Board members pressed scheduling and program impacts. One trustee asked whether students would lose electives; presenters replied the shift likely reduces one elective for students but would not affect graduation requirements and would free other teachers to reorganize blocks so seventh and eighth grades could later gain additional intervention time.
Funding and next steps: administration said staff sought the board’s consideration and that fiscal implications were under review; no formal vote on creating the position was recorded during the meeting. The presenter noted the district would use checkpoint and DIBELS data to identify students for the transitional classes and that a vendor meeting on a reading intervention curriculum was scheduled in March.
The board did not take a final action on the staffing request at the Feb. 16 meeting; administration will return with cost estimates and an implementation plan for future board consideration.
