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District presents preliminary data on HB 352-funded Summer Jump Start; staff says one summer won’t close literacy gaps
Summary
Superintendent Casey Bertram and staff reported preliminary results from the HB 352-funded Summer Jump Start program: ~200 K–3 students attended across three sites and showed higher proficiency and measurable growth, but staff cautioned that a single summer of intervention is unlikely to close the achievement gap and further analysis is underway.
Bozeman School District Superintendent Casey Bertram and district staff presented early findings Dec. 9 on a summer literacy program funded by House Bill 352. The presentation covered program design, participation and initial assessment data and concluded that while participating children showed improved outcomes, one summer of instruction is not sufficient to erase longer-term achievement gaps.
District staff described the program as a 120-hour requirement of HB 352 that the district delivered in roughly six weeks at three sites: Meadowlark, Emily Dickinson and a BELLA multilingual site at Highlight. The program served more than 200 students entering kindergarten through third grade and provided targeted supports for multilingual learners; a separate early-learning offer at Morningstar served approximately 72 four-year-olds.
"The takeaway is that one summer of intervention is not gonna close the achievement gap," Bertram said. Presenters showed comparisons between qualifying students who attended at least 80 percent of Jump Start and qualifying students who did not attend. While the attendees had higher proficiency rates and the district reported notable growth in composite scores (e.g., winter composite average of 83 vs. fall composite average of 113 for a cohort showing strong growth), the district’s preliminary statistical analysis indicated some differences were not yet statistically significant across all comparisons.
Staff noted operational supports used during the program: district-provided transportation, food service at most sites, United Way-funded full-day childcare at one site, and scholarships from the Bozeman Schools Foundation for families on free/reduced-price lunch. The BELLA site—targeted to multilingual learners—served about 40 English-learner students in an intensive, staff-heavy full-day model; staff said expanding that model would require additional private fundraising beyond HB 352 allocations.
Trustees asked about enrollment and selection criteria; the district said qualifying pools were drawn from winter and fall assessment results and community outreach to incoming kindergarten families. Staff said additional analysis (including WIDA scores for multilingual learners) will be compiled in December and January and returned to the board when available.
What’s next: staff will complete further statistical comparisons, return follow-up graphs comparing control and participant cohorts, and continue work to expand multilingual-site capacity while seeking supplemental funding.
