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Justice Elementary reports jump in reading proficiency but flags chronic absenteeism
Summary
Justice Elementary Principal Whitney Ellis told the Logan County Board that preliminary results show reading proficiency rising from 15% to 50% while chronic absenteeism remains high at 44.1%; the school is using targeted interventions, incentives and parent outreach funded in part by Title I to address gaps.
Whitney Ellis, principal of Justice Elementary, told the board the school’s preliminary GSA results show a substantial increase in reading proficiency: “we had 15% proficient in the school in reading. We have moved up to 50% proficient this year.”
Ellis said math showed a smaller gain, moving from 36% to 41% proficiency, and emphasized that chronic absenteeism remains a major barrier to student learning. “We were 37% last year … and now we’re at 44.1,” she said, adding that three years ago the school’s chronic absenteeism had been as high as 55%.
To counter absences and learning gaps, Ellis described a multipronged approach: repeated attendance letters and phone outreach when students miss consecutive days; targeted small-group instruction and a ‘‘skills block’’ for intensive intervention; and attendance incentives such as field trips, “Fun Fridays,” robotics and art clubs. She said Title I funds support some summer-school and parent-engagement activities and that the school plans classroom observations and teacher-led professional learning communities to measure instructional rigor and intervention effectiveness.
Board members asked about the frequency of attendance letters and whether a concentrated focus on ELA explained the reading gains; Ellis said letters and calls go out several times yearly and that the school deliberately emphasized phonics, vocabulary and comprehension this year to lift reading scores while still tracking math progress.
The presentation closed with the board thanking Justice Elementary’s LSIC members for the report and encouraging continued monitoring of attendance and intervention outcomes.
