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Lake Stevens principals report mixed Smarter Balanced results and push district-wide PLC, Tier 1 improvements
Summary
Principals told the Lake Stevens School District board on June 10 that math gains coexisted with ELA declines in elementary schools; leaders said they will tighten Tier 1 instruction, increase PLC meetings and use targeted interventions to close gaps.
Lake Stevens School District principals and executive staff on June 10 presented a mixed set of Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA) results and outlined district plans to strengthen core instruction.
At the Educational Service Center, Sunnycrest Associate Principal Susan Lorow said third- and fourth-grade math achievement increased but that ELA scores declined and missed established goals, adding that the school will strengthen PLC practices and Tier 1 instruction and use student data for targeted remediation and enrichment. Stevens Creek Principal Matt Pewitt said fifth-grade results lagged behind formative classroom data while third grade showed encouraging gains; Pewitt said the school will carry the theme "the gears that make the system work" next year to emphasize collective efficacy.
Other elementary leaders described similar trade-offs. Mount Pilchuck Principal Malissa Weatherbie said final SBA outcomes fell short of goals but generated a sense of urgency that has led staff to request more frequent PLC meetings, cross-district learning walks and refined Tier 2 interventions. Hillcrest Principal Katy Rudolph reported more than 60% proficiency in ELA across grades and strong math growth driven by weekly third-grade PLCs; she described intervention mechanics that combine classroom teachers with LAP-funded paraeducators and re-evaluate groupings every six to eight weeks. Skyline Principal Tori Thomas said the third-grade team met a 70% ELA target while some upper-grade benchmarks were missed, and announced a districtwide expectation to raise unit-assessment proficiency to 80%.
District Executive Director Steve Burleigh and Superintendent Dr. Mary Templeton emphasized that the district will prioritize practical, teacher-led improvements over ad-hoc fixes and support peer observation and substitute-funded coverage to spread effective practices. Vicki Francois, principal of the district's Alternative Programs, said the nontraditional pathways posted a 93.3% overall pass rate this year; the Secondary Distance Learning program, which grew to roughly 180 students, posted a 90.2% Algebra pass rate, and Homelink finished about 1 percentage point shy of its 85% growth goal.
Board members commended staff for focusing on processes that lead to improvement and asked for disaggregated domain- or strand-level SBA feedback where feasible. District leaders said modern SBA reporting is categorical but can be analyzed at a domain level, and that the district already uses performance-distribution mapping to spotlight high-performing classrooms for modeling and coaching.
The board did not take any formal action on the presentations; several directors urged continued emphasis on PLC implementation, increased classroom observation, and clearer release of assessment data to inform summer planning and next year’s instruction.
