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Marlboro County board adopts district Continuous Improvement Plan after midyear i‑Ready presentations
Summary
After a series of school presentations showing mixed midyear i‑Ready results, the Marlboro County School Board approved the district Continuous Improvement Plan and multiple school renewal plans and discussed priorities for reading and math interventions.
The Marlboro County Board of Education voted Feb. 3 to adopt the district Continuous Improvement Plan (CIP) after district staff summarized how the plan mirrors school renewal plans and aligns with state reporting requirements.
District staff said the CIP itself does not carry direct district-level funding but reflects school-level allocations that are approved and administered through the South Carolina Department of Education. "There is no money attached to this for the district continuous Improvement plan but there is for the schools," a district presenter said, noting the state must approve specific school uses and may require edits.
The board then examined midyear diagnostic results from multiple schools using the i‑Ready platform. Presenters from Bennetville Primary, Clo Elementary, McCall and several other schools reported fall-to-winter growth in some grades and domains, while identifying persistent weaknesses in areas such as phonics, informational‑text comprehension and geometry. At several schools presenters said the diagnostics show fewer students two or more grade levels behind than at fall testing and projected higher SC Ready proficiency if students meet "stretch" growth targets.
School leaders described interventions tied to the CIP: small-group instruction, weekly PLCs (professional learning communities), teacher coaching cycles, data notebooks for students, and targeted after‑school programming. Several presenters emphasized family engagement and usage targets for i‑Ready lessons; district staff said the state transformation coach supports implementation and monitoring at 60‑day intervals.
Board members raised questions about social‑emotional learning (SEL) and budget constraints. A board member asked whether federal funds could cover SEL activities; staff responded that many federal categorical funds cannot be used for SEL and that new SEL initiatives would need general‑fund support or local budget allocation.
The board approved the CIP and a slate of school renewal plans by voice/hand vote. District staff noted that figures tied to school plans can change year to year as federal and state allocations fluctuate and that specific spending requires state office approval. Staff committed to follow up on several operational items raised during presentations, including the status of textbook orders and the availability of licensed counseling services at some schools.
The board closed the item by asking staff to continue working with principals and teachers on fidelity of implementation and to bring back progress updates as required by the state monitoring schedule.
