Principal reports diagnostic gains and strong attendance at Stanfield SD 61 school

At a Stanfield School District 61 board meeting, the principal reported that the district is "well above the state average at every grade level," citing improved attendance and diagnostic results that the school ties to family outreach and classroom interventions.

The principal said attendance incentives and front-office outreach have helped. "We are well above the state average at every grade level," the Principal said in the presentation, adding that the school gives a monthly trophy to the class with the best attendance and that staff follow up with students who are missing school.

According to the principal, targeted support produced notable gains among special-education and monolingual students. "The biggest highlight there is we moved a 104 kids from the beginning of the year that were 1 year behind into core," the Principal said, and added that none of those students regressed out of the group.

School leaders also reported meeting or exceeding several ambitious goals set for the year: 19 percent of students were in the strategic range (one grade level below) versus a goal of 22 percent, and math targets were exceeded, with more than 70 percent of students at grade level in some grades.

Board members and staff in the meeting praised classroom teachers and instructional assistants by name in the discussion that followed; the principal singled out literacy and special-education teams as key contributors. The board did not take further action on the presentation but acknowledged follow-up as needed to sustain gains.