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Superintendent-level update: enrollment up, new MTSS structure and 'science of reading' focus in West Bath schools
Summary
District staff reported a slight enrollment increase (including 17 new kindergarten students), rollout of a unified referral form for student supports, consolidation of committees into MTSS, a focus on the 'science of reading,' and a first-quarter attendance report showing nine students meeting the district's chronic-absence threshold.
At the Oct. 16 meeting district staff provided a broad operations update, reporting a small uptick in enrollment and a number of instructional and student-support initiatives.
Julie, a district staff member, said the district welcomed 17 new kindergarten students and described recent field experiences for 5th grade that included rowing instruction and boat building at a maritime museum. Staff thanked Garrett Olsen, a parent and an officer with the Saginaw County Sheriff's Department, for serving as a chaperone when staffing limitations required extra supervision.
Staff said the district consolidated several support committees — gifted and talented, RTI and SAT — into a single MTSS (multi-tiered system of supports) structure and rolled out a single referral form to coordinate social-emotional, enrichment and RTI referrals. "No matter if a student needs social-emotional support or gifted and talented or enrichment or Title I support or RTI, or you just want to talk about someone, it's all one form," Julie said.
On instruction, staff said the district is "digging into something called the science of reading" and is working to align teacher knowledge around the five components of reading in anticipation of an upcoming reading-teacher retirement.
On attendance, staff reported the first-quarter attendance window covers July through September (20 school days) and that nine students had been absent enough to be considered chronically absent under the district's >10% threshold; staff noted illness as a common driver of absences.
What's next: staff said 5th graders will be present at the next board meeting to share their trip; the board will continue to review data from fall testing windows and use it to set student and staff goals.
