Walden reports statewide gains but flags gaps for African American students and students with disabilities

Jeff Sturdivant, directing principal at Walden, presented data showing a 6.5‑point overall gain on the state report card and notable growth in ACT English and AP exam results (including three 5s on AP World and roughly 80% scoring 3 or higher on some AP exams). He said the school saw strong jumps in sixth‑grade advanced percentages and growth on ACT-related measures.

Sturdivant identified two persistent gaps: students with disabilities showed roughly average or stagnant growth (around a 3.0 growth score), and African American students recorded much smaller gains (reported as about 0.3 in a growth category). He described targeted plans for next year emphasizing math achievement, targeted interventions (Progress Learning, ALEKS, supplemental lessons), vertical alignment across grades 6–12 and a social‑emotional learning focus on emotional regulation and perseverance. Walden also reported improvements in chronic absenteeism schoolwide (down to about 18%) and a drop in the African American subgroup from approximately 36% to about 24.6% year‑over‑year.

Board members asked detailed questions about subscore weaknesses (geometry, statistics/probability, algebra), homework and practice structures, vertical alignment across content areas, and teacher retention; Sturdivant described PLCs, additional lessons and targeted interventions as his central strategies.