Middle school principal cites Keystone Algebra gains, flags ELA decline and attendance struggles

Fallon Mallory, building principal at the middle school, told the board the school saw measurable gains in algebra proficiency while simultaneously identifying slippage in ELA outcomes in grades 7–8 tied to text-dependent analysis and writing stamina. "93 students are either proficient or advanced," Mallory said, noting that advanced performance also increased year over year.

Mallory said the building is focusing on differentiated instruction, targeted interventions through the IST process and teacher calibration on text-dependent analysis scoring. Attendance remains a challenge; Mallory said chronic absenteeism is contributing to lower scores for some students and that the building is piloting incentives and earlier interventions. On typing and online-test readiness, Mallory said, "We don't have a formal typing class, but we are at least exposing kids more to having to type on their keyboard," and that staff are working with technology to create digital writing platforms to build stamina.

Board members asked for clarity on interventions and whether additional staff or behavioral supports are needed; Mallory said staffing and scheduling constraints make permanent hires difficult immediately, but teacher leadership and coaching are being used to scale successful practices.