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Board presses district on whether coaching and tech (Amira) are driving literacy gains
Summary
Board members probed staff about coaching uptake, the link between coaching and student outcomes, technology usage (Amira) and small-sample limitations in learning-walk data; staff said within-year growth was strong but year-to-year targets remain challenging and committed to more school-level implementation data.
District research and assessment staff presented the Goal 1 (grade 3 literacy) progress monitoring report and interim guardrail 3.3 about instructional coaching impact. Jess Reyes summarized data sources (STAR results, educator surveys, tutoring usage, TNTP walkthroughs). Moonhawk Kim reported within-year growth of 10.9% from winter to spring for certain cohorts but noted end-of-year proficiency for kindergarten at about 53.88% and first grade at about 59.0%.
The presentation included implementation metrics: a teacher survey item showed roughly 69% of respondents reported implementing a strategy learned from instructional coaches (target 65%). Staff also reported that increased Amira usage correlated with stronger outcomes (they noted an internal estimate that 100 minutes of Amira use was associated with a 29‑point STAR early-literacy gain for some cohorts) but acknowledged usage rates vary and that many teachers reported technology or access barriers.
Commissioners asked pointed questions about whether the 69% implementation figure actually translates to improved student outcomes, how coaching is deployed across schools and grades, and whether additional coaches or a different deployment model are needed. Board members asked for school-level heat maps and clearer implementation data for the six sites concentrating a large share of AAPI kindergarteners. Staff said they will strengthen collection of implementation measures (coaching cycles, MTSS alignment, site-level dashboards) and consider targeted investments for schools with concentrated need.
