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Lacey reports reading gains, elementary attendance above 90%; math remains a focus
Summary
District administrator Lacey told the board the district completed first-round diagnostics, with elementary attendance over 90% and reading improvements versus last year; she outlined math goals and supports for students testing two or more grade levels below.
District administrator Lacey reported to the Stanfield SD 61 Board that the district has finished its first round of diagnostic testing and is seeing encouraging signs in reading and elementary attendance.
"We're above 90%, which is fantastic," Lacey said, noting the elementary school's attendance rate and emphasizing the importance of students being present for instruction. She said reading scores are up compared with this time last year — "the plus 7, the plus 6" shown in her packet — and that the district has set targets to further improve outcomes.
Lacey laid out specific targets for academic growth: for math, the district is aiming for 60% or more of students to be on grade level and to reduce a strategic subgroup that currently sits around 68% to below 34%; in reading, the goal is to lower the strategic subgroup to under 22%. She said 49 students are currently in the "red" category for reading, including 16 students with Individualized Education Programs and eight monolingual students who have been in the country fewer than three years.
To address those needs, Lacey described multiple supports: targeted RTI groups, extra ELD sessions run by Ms. Hartstein, and a partnership with IMESD to deliver Imagine Learning programming. She said she has personally spent more than $500 to add informational books to the school library so students can check out age-appropriate nonfiction at their reading level. "So I'm going to keep prioritizing that," she said.
Board members pressed on the connection between reading and math performance; Lacey noted that students who struggle to read often have difficulty interpreting story problems, and staff are coordinating pacing and checkpoints so instructional assistants can better support RTI groups in grades 2 and 3. She said the district is also working to reduce technology barriers — for example, young students learning to navigate testing software on Chromebooks — that can affect assessment results.
The district will continue to track these cohorts at staff meetings and adjust supports as needed.
