[1. Meeting Opening]
[00:00:22]
GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.
[2. Information Items]
>> WELCOME, EVERYONE, AND I WILL TURN IT OVER.
>> BOARD, THIS EVENING, WE'VE GOT A PRESENTATION THAT'S GOING TO BE A CELEBRATION OF ALL OF OUR TEACHERS AND ADMINISTRATORS' WORK AND OUR STUDENTS WORK WORK FOR THE '24- '25 SCHOOL YEAR AND I SAY IT'S A CELEBRATION AS YOU'LL SEE AS DR. KEGLY MAKES THIS PRESENTATION OF ALL THE ACADEMIC GAINS THIS DISTRICT HAD LAST YEAR AND WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IT IN BITS AND PIECES BUT MOST OF IT HAS NOT BEEN AVAILABLE FOR US TO DO UNTIL THE STATE UNEMBARGOED ALL OF IT AND WE'RE STILL NOT DONE BECAUSE GRADUATION RATES COME IN ANOTHER MONTH OR SO, SO WE'LL FOLLOW UP WITH THAT.
BUT SINCE IT IS A LOT OF INFORMATION, IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, LET'S HOLD THEM TO THE END AND IF YOU HAVE DOCUMENT IN YOUR HANDS AND LOOK THROUGH IT, IF YOU'LL JUST EMAIL IT, AND DR. KEGLY WILL GET SOME OF THOSE ANSWERS AS WELL.
>> THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING, BOARD.
AS MR. MAPES SAID, BEFORE I GET TOO DEEP INTO THINGS, SOME OF THIS DATA, YOU'VE SEEN BEFORE IN THE LAST MONTH OR SO, TWO MONTHS, AS WE RELEASE SOME THINGS, AS WE WERE ABLE TO, BUT ONCE -- IT IS NICE TO SEE EVERYTHING IN CONTEXT TO UNDERSTAND WHAT DO THESE ASSESSMENTS DO FOR US, SO I'LL REVIEW THAT AS WE GO ALONG, AS WELL AS SEE HOW WE COMPARE TO NEIGHBORING DISTRICTS, TO OTHER PEERS, SO THAT WE CAN KIND OF GET A PERSPECTIVE OF WHERE DO WE LAND COMPARED TO EVERYBODY ELSE.
I WOULD ECHO THE SENTIMENTS THAT MR. MAPES SAID.
ME AND MY TEAM HAVE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO WITNESS, OVER THE LAST YEAR, THE HARD WORK AND DEDICATION THAT OUR TEACHERS HAVE DONE. SAT IN NUMEROUS MEETINGS FOR COUNTLESS HOURS FOR THEM TO WORK ON PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLANS, TO CHART A COURSE OF HOW WE'RE GOING TO BETTER SUPPORT AND SERVE THE TEACHERS IN THE CLASSROOM. THEY ARE WHERE THE RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD, AND SO I'M JUST A CONDUIT TONIGHT TO SHARE A LOT OF THE GOOD NEWS, BUT THE KUDOS GO TO THOSE FOLKS. SO, WE'RE GOING TO JUMP IN.
I APPRECIATE THE PACKED HOUSE.
LARRY, THANKS FOR BEING HERE TONIGHT.
TOO NICE TO NOT COME TO THIS, I GUESS. SO, I'M GOING TO JUMP IN WITH THE BIG SPLASH HEADLINES AND THEN TALK ABOUT SOME OF THEM IN A LITTLE MORE DETAIL AS WE GET DOWN THE ROAD HERE WITH EACH OF THESE STANDARDIZED EXAMS. WE KNOW THAT STANDARDIZED ASSESSMENTS FROM THE STATE DO NOT TELL THE WHOLE PICTURE OF OUR CHILDREN, OF OUR SCHOOLS, OF OUR ENTIRE DISTRICT, BUT THEY ARE A MOMENT IN TIME WHERE WE CAN TAKE A PICTURE AND SAY, HOW ARE WE DOING? AND SO, IN REFLECTION OF THAT, LOOKING AT OUR I READ THREE, THE BIG TAKEAWAYS THERE, WE INCREASED FROM 94% TO 96%. THAT'S OUR HIGHEST PASSING RATE IN FIVE YEARS. TEN OF OUR 13 SCHOOLS OF OUR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS REACHED 95%, WHICH IS KIND OF THE STATE GOAL. THAT'S WHAT THEY WANT US TO AND SHOOT FOR. THEY WERE 95% OR HIGHER.
THAT'S A DOUBLING OF THE NUMBER OF SCHOOLS UP FROM FIVE LAST YEAR.
ALL OF OUR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS WERE 90% OR HIGHER. WE WERE CLOSE TO THAT MARK LAST YEAR, BUT WE GOT THERE THIS YEAR.
AND OUR DEMOGRAPHIC GROUPS, WHICH WE KEEP AN EYE ON, ALL DEMONSTRATED REALLY STRONG ACHIEVEMENT. JUST SOME EXAMPLES. OUR BLACK STUDENTS HAD THE HIGHEST PASSING RATE IN FOUR YEARS.
OUR FREE AND REDUCED LUNCH STUDENTS HAD THEIR HIGHEST PASSING RATE IN FOUR YEARS. OUR ENL STUDENTS, THE SAME, AND WE HAD A 14% INCREASE IN ACHIEVEMENT FOR OUR SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS IN IREAD-3 OVER THE LAST YEAR, SO A LOT TO CELEBRATE THERE.
AND I LEARNED OUR ENGLISH AND MATH COMBINED WERE UP 1.4 POINTS. WE'VE BEEN UP OVER TEN POINTS IN THE FIVE TEST ADMINISTRATIONS. FOUR OF OUR SIX TESTED GRADE LEVELS, PLUS THE DISTRICT, SHOWED INCREASES IN LANGUAGE ARTS.
AND FIVE OF THE SIX, PLUS THE DISTRICT, IN MATH.
WE'LL DIVE INTO THOSE NUMBERS IN A LITTLE MORE DETAIL IN A MINUTE. NINE OF OUR 12 DEMOGRAPHIC GROUPS THAT WE KEEP AN EYE ON INCREASED IN LANGUAGE ARTS AND 10 OF THE 12 INCREASED
[00:05:03]
IN MATH. AT OUR UPPER GRADES, TWO BIG ASSESSMENTS THAT WE KEEP AN EYE ON, SAT AND AP, WE REMAINED THIRD IN COMPARISON TO SIMILAR SCHOOLS WITH OUR SAT DATA FOR THE WRITING AND THE MATH COMBINED. WE DID HAVE A 2.8% INCREASE IN THE WRITING PORTION AND 4.2% IN MATH OVER THE LAST YEAR.BOTH SCHOOLS DEMONSTRATED THEIR HIGHEST PERCENT OF PASSING, WHICH IS CONSIDERED A 3-PLUS IN AP FOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS. BOTH OF OUR HIGH SCHOOLS. WE HAD AN INCREASE OF OVER 200 EXAMS THAT WERE TAKEN FROM 2024, AND WE STILL INCREASED BY 3%. SO, THAT'S -- WE'LL LOOK AT AN EXAMPLE OF THAT AS WE GET DOWN THE ROAD HERE. AND ONCE AGAIN, OVER 50% OF OUR GRADUATING SENIORS IN 2024 OR FROM 2025 CLASS GRADUATED HAVING GOTTEN÷÷ A 3 OR HIGHER ON AT LEAST ONE AP EXAM DURING THEIR HIGH SCHOOL CAREER. I THINK THAT'S PRETTY OUTSTANDING.
>> SO, 50% OF THE ONES THAT TOOKTOOK THE TEST, NOT JUST ANYBODY IN
AP? >> NO, 50% OF OUR GRADUATING SENIORS --
>> ALL OF OUR SENIORS IN 2025.
THANK YOU. >> THEY WERE UP -- IT WAS UP SLIGHTLY FROM JUST A LITTLE BIT FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR. THAT'S ANOTHER MARK THAT WE HAVE ACHIEVED BEFORE, BUT IT'S GREAT
CONSISTENCY. >> EXCELLENT, YES, THANK YOU.
>> SO, LET'S LOOK A LITTLE BIT DEEPER INTO OUR IREAD-3 SCORES.
THIS IS A SCHOOL-BY- SCHOOL COMPARISON AS WELL AS YOU HAVE THE DISTRICT AT THE BOTTOM.
THE RED INDICATES 95% OR HIGHER. SO THAT YOU CAN SEE SPECIFICALLY WHERE EACH SCHOOL LANDED, SINCE 2022, HISTORICALLY UP TO THIS PAST YEAR AND AGAIN THE 96% INCREASE OR 2% INCREASE FOR THE DISTRICT.
WE HAD DEER CREEK, 94 -- THIS IS A LOOK AT, AND I USED THE SAME COMPARISON SCHOOLS THROUGHOUT ALL OF THE DIFFERENT ASSESSMENTS.
SO, WHEN YOU SEE THIS GROUP, ALL -- WE HAVE ALL OF OUROUR CONFERENCE, OUR ATHLETIC CONFERENCE SCHOOLS INCLUDED IN HERE. AS WELL AS A FEW OTHER HIGH-PERFORMING DISTRICTS, AND SO YOU CAN SEE WHERE WE COMPARED TO THAT COMPARISON GROUP.
MR. MAPES HAS ALSO SHARED THAT WHEN YOU LOOK AT SCHOOLS WITH AN ENROLLMENT OF A THOUSAND OR MORE STUDENTS, WE WERE NUMBER ONE. IN IREAD- 3 THROUGH 2025.
>> CAN YOU REMIND ME, PLEASE, WHERE PENN HARRIS
IS. >> UP BY SOUTH BEND AND HIGH SCHOOL WOULD BE THEIR HIGH SCHOOL, BUT THAT'S THE SCHOOL INCORPORATION NAME.
>> BEFORE WE LEAVE IREAD, I WANT TO SHOW YOU AN EXAMPLE OF THE EFFECT OF HOW OUR STUDENTS TAKING THE IREAD-3 EXAM AS A SECOND GRADER HELPED US REALLY HONE IN ON THE SKILLS THAT THEY NEEDED. IN 2024, 58.4% OF OUR SECOND GRADERS GOING INTO THIRD GRADE HAD ALREADY PASSED IREAD-3. THIS CURRENT YEAR, OUR CURRENT SITTING THIRD GRADERS, ALREADY 81.1% OF THEM HAVE PASSED. IT'S TWO DIFFERENT CLASSES.
TWO DIFFERENT CLASSES. SO, THIS IS OUR SITTING THIRD GRADERS AND THE SITTING THIRD GRADERS FROM A YEAR AGO. I THINK THAT REALLY SPEAKS TO, A, OUR TEACHERS UNDERSTANDING HOW -- WHAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S INVOLVED IN THE TEST AND WHAT IT'S ABOUT AND HOW -- BUT REALLY HONING INTO THOSE SKILLS SO THAT AS -- EVEN AS SECOND GRADERS, WE KNOW THAT WE CAN START TO PREPARE OUR STUDENTS FOR WHAT THAT EXAM CALLS FOR.
AND GET THEM PREPPED AND READY TO GO SO THAT THEY CAN DO THE BEST THAT THEY CAN. AND WE'LL SEE IF THIS PATTERN CONTINUES FOR US.
I MEAN, THE FACT THAT WE ARE -- HAVE SITTING THIRD GRADERS AND 19.9% OF THEM STILL NEED TO GET ACROSS THE FINISH LINE, AND THEY WILL HAVE TWO TEST ADMINISTRATIONS TO DO THAT, THEY'LL BE IN EARLY SPRING AND THEN A SUMMER. REALLY HELPS OUR TEACHERS BE ABLE TO FOCUS IN ON MAKING SURE THOSE STUDENTS, BECAUSE THAT NUMBER IS OBVIOUSLY WHITTLED DOWN FROM A CLASS OF PROBABLY 1,500, WHITTLED DOWN TO REALLY FOCUS ON THOSE SKILLS AND
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MAKE SURE THEY HAVE WHAT THEY NEED SO THAT THEY'RE READY TO GO BY THE END OF THE THIRD GRADE YEAR.>> CAN I JUST ASK, OR MAYBE YOU CAN REMIND ME, WHEN DID WE START FOCUSING ON SECOND GRADE FOR IREAD TO HELP BOOST THIRD- GRADE SCORES?
>> THE STATE ALLOWED US TO OPT IN TWO YEARS AGO, I BELIEVE.
WHEN WAS IT? WE OPTED IN IN '24.
NOW EVERYBODY DOES IT. >> OKAY, THANK YOU.
>> SHIFTING TO THE ILEARN EXAM THAT WE HAVE HAD FOR MANY YEARS FOR STUDENTS IN GRADES THREE THROUGH EIGHT, FOR THE FIFTH YEAR RUNNING NOW, WE'VE INCREASED OUR PASSING RATE FOR BOTH -- THESE ARE STUDENTS WHO HAVE PASSED BOTH IN TEST ADMINISTRATION FOR THE DISTRICT AT 53.9%.
AND THEN WHEN WE LOOK AT IT GRADE BY GRADE, THIS IS REFLECTIVE OF THE TAKEAWAY I GAVE YOU AT THE BEGINNING, BUT YOU CAN SEE IN RED THE NUMBER OF SCHOOLS THAT WERE, IN 2025, THAT WERE HIGHER THAN LAST YEAR.
BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, I ALSO WANT TO DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO THE FIVE- YEAR CHANGE, BECAUSE WHAT THIS DEMONSTRATES IS THAT OVER THE COURSE OF TIME, WE HAVE CONTINUED TO KIND OF SEE THAT STAIR STEP, AND YOU CAN SEE THAT IN OUR PRIMARY GRADES, MOSTLY, UP TO GRADE SIX.
WE'VE GOT DOUBLE- DIGIT INCREASES OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS.
SO, THIS ISN'T AN ISSUE -- WE KNOW THAT SOMETIMES WE'LL HAVE CLASSES COME THROUGH, AND WE MIGHT HAVE A VALLEY AND THEN, YOU KNOW, A PEAK IN TERMS OF PERFORMANCE, SO WHEN WE LOOK AT THE TOTALTOTAL A LONGER SPAN, IT HELPS US SEE, IS OUR PROGRAM REALLY SOUND? ARE WE REALLY WORKING TOWARDS THE THINGS WE NEED TO WORK TOWARDS? AND I THINK THESE -- ALL OF THESE SCORES ARE EVIDENT OF THAT.
>> AND LOOKING AT THAT, THEN, SO, INTERPRETING IT, WE WOULD BE GOING ON AN ANGLE, THEN, CORRECT? BECAUSE FOR '21, IT'S THIRD GRADE, BUT IN '22, THAT WOULD BE THAT FOURTH GRADE
CLASS. >> IF YOU WERE FOLLOWING COHORTS, CORRECT. THEY WOULD GO DIAGONALLY DOWN TO THE CORNER.
>> AND IT LOOKS LIKE ON THE MAJORITY OF THEM, THEY ALL WERE IMPROVED, WHICH IS PRETTY
POSITIVE. >> WE NOTICED EVERYONE THIS YEAR, BREAKING DOWN THE DATA, WE NOTICED THAT WE HAD MAYBE SOME INDIVIDUAL SCHOOLS WHO HAD A DROP IN PERFORMANCE, MAYBE IN LANGUAGE ARTS OR MATH FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR. BUT WHEN WE FOLLOWED THEIR COHORT THROUGH, THEY ACTUALLY GREW, SO THOSE ARE PIECES -- WE TRY TO KEEP YOUR EYE ON BOTH.
WE DO WANT TO SEE HOW KIDS GROW AS THEY GO ALONG, BUT IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO LOOK AT THE GRADE LEVEL AT THIS POINT IN TIME BECAUSE IT HELPS US KNOW, IS THE INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICES WE HAVE IN PLACE AT THIS GRADE BENEFITTING ALL STUDENTS YEAR AFTER YEAR? THESE SCORES HELP US TO SEE THAT.
>> SO, IN OTHER WORDS, YOU WATCH THAT, LET'S SAY, THREE- YEAR SPAN, IS IT ALWAYS AT 55 '55 OR DID IT GO 55, 58, 59, AND YOU KNOW THAT THEY'VE IMPROVED IN THAT GRADE LEVEL FOR THOSE -- AND THEN YOU DO IT EVEN MORE SO? DO YOU BREAK DOWN THE SCHOOLS ALSO? LIKE IT SAYS FIFTH GRADE.
WOULD YOU ALSO HAVE DATA FOR YOURSELVES IN BREAKOUT?
>> ABSOLUTELY. MOST IMPORTANTLY, THOSE BUILDINGS ARE TAKING THAT DATA YOU KNOW, REFINING THEIR PRACTICES AS WELL IF IT CALLS FOR IT.
>> FOR MATH, AGAIN, ALL BUT THIRD GRADE WAS AN INCREASE OVER PREVIOUS 2024.
BUT SOME -- WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE FIVE-YEAR CHANGE, SOME REALLY GREAT IMPROVEMENTS THERE, PARTICULARLY WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THE WORK OF OUR JUNIOR HIGH FOLKS OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS. 16 AND OVER 20-POINT GAINS IN THAT TIME PERIOD. SPEAKS TO THE WORK THAT THEY'RE DOING. AGAIN, IT'S NOT JUST A POINT IN TIME BUT WE'RE SEEING, OVER TIME, THAT WE'RE DOING THE RIGHT THINGS TO RAISE SCORES.
THIS IS REALLY, REALLY ENCOURAGING FOR US.
THIS IS LOOKING AT THAT SAME COMPARISON GROUP OF SCHOOLS. ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS IS IN THE BLUE.
MATH IS IN RED. WE'RE RIGHT THERE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CHART.
BUT NEAR THE TOP IN COMPARISON SCHOOLS WITH OUR DISTRICT.
THESE ARE DISTRICT COMPARISON NUMBERS.
THIS JUST DEMONSTRATES, IF YOU LOOK AT THAT COMPARISON GROUP, JUST THE DIFFERENCE IN YEAR-OVER- YEAR CHANGE.
THIS IS FOR LANGUAGE ARTS SO WE GREW 1.3% AS A DISTRICT IN LANGUAGE ARTS. YOU CAN SEE WHO ELSE GREW, WHO MAYBE STAYED THE SAME, WHO WENT DOWN. AND THEN, WE DO THE SAME THING FOR MATH. AND WE
[00:15:08]
GREW TWO PERCENTAGE POINTS IN MATH OVERALL, AND YOU CAN SEE HOW THAT SHOOK OUT FOR EVERYONE IN THAT GROUP.AS I MENTIONED, OUR WORK AND HOW OUR STUDENTS PERFORMED, WE DO A BREAKDOWN OF THE DEMOGRAPHIC GROUPS, AND WE LOOK AT 12 DIFFERENT GROUPS, ETHNICITY, AND THEN WE ALSO LOOK AT FREE AND REDUCED. WE LOOK AT OUR SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS AND WE LOOK AT OUR ENL STUDENTS.
WHAT WE WANT TO SEE IS WHAT YOU SEE MOST LIKE IN THE AMERICAN INDIAN COLUMN, IS WE WOULD LOVE A SHARP STAIRSTEP UP, BUT A GRADUAL STAIRSTEP WILL SHOW THAT THAT DEMOGRAPHIC GROUP IS MAKING STRIDES OVER THE YEAR, AND WE DO HAVE SOME REALLY NICE INCREASES HERE.
OUR BLACK STUDENTS INCREASED 4.4% IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS. OUR AMERICAN INDIAN STUDENTS WERE UP 9.7%.
IN LOOKING AT THIS GROUP, WE'VE GOT, AGAIN, SOME DECENT STAIRSTEPS, A LITTLE BIT MORE OF A FLAT LINE FOR A LOT OF THE GROUPS, BUT OUR BIG FOCUS HERE IS HOW DO WE MAKE SURE WE'RE TRYING TO CLOSE THE GAPS BETWEEN THE HIGHEST-PERFORMING GROUPS AND OUR LOWEST-PERFORMING GROUPS? AND THAT'S A PART OF ALL OF OUR -- MANY OF OUR SCHOOL GOALS AS THEY WORK FOR THEIR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN AS WELL.
AND THEN, TO SEE THE SAME THING IN MATH.
LITTLE BIT MORE OF A CLEARLY DEFINED, NOT AS MUCH OF AN UP AND DOWN AS IT RELATES TO MATH, A LITTLE BIT MORE OF THAT GRADUAL INCREASE AS WE LOOK AT VARIOUS GROUPS.
OKAY. WE'RE GOING TO SHIFT TO THE HIGH SCHOOL NOW.
SAT DATA. SO, JUST AS A REMINDER, EVERY MARCH, THE STATE REQUIRES OUR JUNIORS TO SIT FOR ONE FREE TEST ADMINISTRATION FOR THEM OF THE SAT, AND THAT IS THEIR ACCOUNTABILITY MEASURE FOR HIGH SCHOOL.
SO, ALL OF OUR 11TH GRADERS SAT FOR ONE DAY IN MARCH THIS PAST YEAR.
THE IMPORTANT THING TO KEEP IN MIND IS WE KNOW, AS WE SIT HERE AND WE TAILOR CURRICULUM, AND WE TAILOR PROGRAMMING TO ALL THE NEEDS OF OUR STUDENTS, WE KNOW THAT NOT EVERY CHILD WANTS TO GO TO A FOUR- YEAR UNIVERSITY.
AND THE SAT IS OFTEN THE METRIC THAT MANY UNIVERSITIES USED FOR ADMISSIONS.
BUT HAVING SAID THAT, I THINK WE'VE STILL SHOWN OURSELVES TO PRODUCE SOME REALLY STRONG SCORES, SO AGAIN, WE'RE KIND OF IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS CHART WITH THAT COMPARISON GROUP. ACHIEVED OUR HIGHEST IN THE LAST FOUR YEARS, SO THIS IS THE FOUR YEARS THAT THE STATE HAS BEEN REQUIRING THAT WE SIT FOR THAT EXAM IN MARCH. SO, 78. 1% IN THE EVIDENCE-BASED READING AND WRITING.
>> SO, FOR CLARIFICATION, A STUDENT CAN SIT THERE AND JUST WRITE C, C, C, C, C, BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T WANT TO GO TO COLLEGE AND THEY WERE ACCEPTED INTO A TRADE SCHOOL OR SOMETHING AND THEY CHOSE NOT TO DO THIS, THAT IS, UNFORTUNATELY, FIGURED INTO OUR DATA, CORRECT?
>> IT WOULD BE IN THAT SCENARIO.
>> I'M NOT SAYING THERE ARE SEVERAL.
BUT TECHNICALLY, WHEN -- NOT EVERY STUDENT HAS TO SIT THERE AND DO THEIR VERY BEST.
>> I HAD KIND OF A SIMILAR QUESTION SINCE YOU ASKED. DO WE HAVE ANY DATA ON HOW OUR KIDS ARE PERFORMING THAT ARE GOING TO A FOUR- YEAR SCHOOL? DO WE SURVEY THEM OR ANYTHING AND SAY, ARE YOU GOING TO A FOUR- YEAR SCHOOL AND HOW THOSE KIDS DID?
>> WELL, WE HAVE SENIOR SURVEYS THAT OUR CLASSES TYPICALLY DO EVERY YEAR IN THE SPRING BEFORE THEY GRADUATE THAT THEY WILL DO SOME KIND OF INDICATION OF WHAT THEIR FUTURE PLANS ARE.
I'M NOT SURE, JASON, IF WE'VE EVER TIED THAT DIRECTLY BACK TO THIS ADMINISTRATION. AS WE KNOW, STUDENTS CAN SIT MULTIPLE TIMES FOR THE SAT.
AND SOME START AS EARLY AS THEIR SOPHOMORE YEAR.
THIS IS JUST THE ADMINISTRATION THAT WE TEND TO FOCUS ON, BECAUSE THE STATE REQUIRES IT OF US, AND WE KNOW THAT EVERY KID IN THAT CLASS IS SITTING FOR THIS PARTICULAR EXAM.
>> OKAY, SO, THIS ONE IS ONLY THE RESULTS FROM THE SAT, THE FIRST ONE THAT WE OFFER.
>> THE ONE THEY TAKE AS JUNIORS IN MARCH.
SO, THEY -- >> IF THEY GO AND RETAKE AND IMPROVE, THAT'S NOT IN THIS?
YOU WILL HAVE KIDS SITTING IN THIS ADMINISTRATION THAT MAYBE HAVE TAKEN IT TWICE ALREADY, AND MANY THAT IT'S THEIR FIRST TIME. THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF THAT COMPARISON GROUP AND OUR 2.8% INCREASE COMPARED
[00:20:01]
TO, AGAIN, THOSE OTHER DISTRICTS.AS WE TURN OUR ATTENTION TO MATH, YOU CAN SEE AS A WHOLE THE COMPOSITE SCORES ARE A LITTLE BIT LOWER THAN THE WRITING SCORES AS A WHOLE FOR EVERYONE, BUT WE DID SHOW A NICE INCREASE UP FROM LAST YEAR WHERE WE HAD KIND OF DIPPED A LITTLE BIT.
THAT'S THE GREEN, THE FAR- RIGHT GREEN BAR FOR US. AND THEN THIS LOOKS AT THAT GROUP IN TERMS OF PERCENT CHANGE.
>> AM I READING THAT CORRECTLY THAT WE HAD THE HIGHEST CHANGE?
EXCELLENT, THANK YOU. >> SO, WHEN WE LOOK AT BOTHBOTH SCORES, THE WRITING AND THE MATH TOGETHER, WE HAVE A COMPOSITE SCORE OF 56.5, WHICH, OF THESE COMPARISON SCHOOLS, AGAIN, AS I MENTIONED AT THE OUTSET, WE REMAIN THIRD AMONG THIS GROUP.
WE'RE GOING TO SHIFT OUR ATTENTION TO ADVANCED PLACEMENT.
AS YOU MAY KNOW, BUT IF NOT, I'LL JUST PROVIDE A LITTLE TUTORIAL FOR YOU. SO, WE OFFER MANY ADVANCED PLACEMENT COURSES AT OUR HIGH SCHOOLS. THOSE ARE OPEN TO STUDENTS THROUGHOUT THEIR HIGH SCHOOL JOURNEY, SO THERE ARE EVEN COURSES THAT ARE ACCESSIBLE AS FRESHMEN, BUT WE CONSIDER ALL THESE COURSES TO BE COLLEGE-LEVEL, AND WE STRONGLY ENCOURAGE EVERY STUDENT THAT TAKES AN AP COURSE TO SIT FOR THE EXAM, BECAUSE THEY'VE PUT IN THE WORK THROUGHOUT AN ENTIRE YEAR, AND WE WANT THEM TO HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO POSSIBLY REAP THE BENEFITS OF DOING WELL ON THAT EXAM, BECAUSE THAT CAN TRANSLATE, DEPENDING ON WHAT THEIR MAJOR IS GOING TO BE, IF THEY GO ON TO A FOUR- YEAR SCHOOL, IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY, POTENTIALLY, FOR THEM TO EARN SOME COLLEGE CREDIT.
SO, WHAT WE LIKE TO THINK OF PASSING ON AN ADVANCED PLACEMENT IS A STUDENT THAT SCORES AT LEAST A 3 OR HIGHER, OUT OF 5, ON THE EXAM.
THIS IS BROKEN DOWN BY OUR TWO HIGH SCHOOLS, AND THEN YOU SEE A DISTRICT TOTAL.
SO, OF STUDENTS WHO TOOK ANY AP COURSE, LAST YEAR, AND SAT FOR THE EXAM, AT FISHERS HIGH SCHOOL, 87% OF THOSE STUDENTS GOT A 3 OR HIGHER AND AT HSE, 85% OF THOSE STUDENTS GOT A 3 OR HIGHER. SO IT'S SOME OUTSTANDING WORK.
>> YEAH. >> SO, FOR CLARIFICATION, LOOKING AT FISHERS ONLY, 2,679 TESTS WERE TAKEN. BY 1,360
STUDENTS. >> YEAH, AND THE PERCENTAGE IS THE PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS THAT GOT A 3 OR HIGHER, NOT THE PERCENTAGE OF EXAMS THAT THE STUDENTS TOOK THAT GOT A 3 OR HIGHER.
>> SO, THIS IS A DETAILED LOOK AT JUST FISHERS HIGH SCHOOL, AND WHAT I WANT TO SEE ON THIS, AND WHAT WE CAN SEE FROM THIS GRAPH, IS THAT WE'VE STEADILY INCREASED OVER THE YEARS IN THE PERCENT THAT ARE ACHIEVING AT 3 OR HIGHER. THIS IS A GREAT EXAMPLE OF WHAT I TALKED ABOUT AT THE OUTSET WHERE YOU'LL LOOK FOR THE 2025 YEAR.
FISHERS WENT FROM 2,370 -- I'M SORRY.
1,067 STUDENTS THAT TOOK 2,370 EXAMS IN '24.
WE INCREASED OUR EXAM TOTAL BY OVER 300, AND STILL WENT UP IN THE ACHIEVEMENT SIDE.
>> I MAY BE GETTING AHEAD OF YOU, BUT DO WE HAVE ANY METRICS FOR -- S FAR AS I CAN TELL, ALL THESE ARE GEARED TOWARDS KIDS WHO WOULD BE GOING TO A FOUR- YEAR SCHOOL, SAT S, AP EXAMS. DO WE HAVE KIDS ON A DIFFERENT TRACK? THERE'S THE MILITARY EXAM. I CAN'T REMEMBER THE NAME OF IT. OR TRADE SCHOOL CERTIFICATIONS, ANY OF THOSE?
>> WE'RE KIND OF IN THE -- THAT NEEDS TO BECOME A PART OF THIS YEARLY REPORT, AND SO AS STUDENTS ARE ON THE NEW DIPLOMA PATH AND AS THEY'RE EARNING THE DIFFERENT SEALS AND WHATNOT, THOSE ARE THINGS THAT WE NEED TO BE INCLUDING IN THIS SO THAT WE HAVE A PICTURE OF ALL OF OUR KIDS. YEAH.
ABSOLUTELY. BECAUSE THERE WOULD BE MANY KIDS WHO ARE NOT STEPPING INTO AN AP CLASSROOM.
THIS SAME INFORMATION FOR AGENCYAGENCY SCHOOL. SOMETIMES, YOU WILL SEE A VARYING DIFFERENCE IN THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS THAT ARE TAKING AN AP COURSE OR SITTING FOR AP EXAMS. ALSO, REMEMBER THAT AP IS JUST ONE POTENTIAL DUAL CREDIT OPPORTUNITY FOR OUR KIDS. SO, WE HAVE MANY KIDS THAT ARE SITTING IN AN ACP COURSE, WHICH IS IU'S DUAL
[00:25:04]
CREDIT COURSE OPTION, THAT ARE ALSO DOING QUITE WELL. THEY'RE PAYING FOR THEIR TUITION UP FRONT IN THAT COURSE, AND THEN WHATEVER GRADE BECOMES PART OF THEIR TRANSCRIPT ON THE BACK END.>> SO, WHEN OUR KIDS ARE GOING THROUGH THEIR COUNSELORS AND WORKING ON THEIR PLANS AND WHATEVER, WHAT -- THIS COULD BE A SIMPLE ANSWER, I DON'T KNOW -- WHAT INSTITUTES THEM TO -- THAT OUR NUMBERS WENT UP? WE WENT UP AT FISHERS, FOR EXAMPLE, 300 STUDENTS.
WHAT HELPS THAT TO HAPPEN? IS IT JUST INTRODUCTION TO IT FROM THEIR S OROR DIFFERENT PROGRAMS? WHAT DO YOU FEEL OR WHAT DOES THE SCHOOL FEEL? I'M GLAD TO SEE, BUT WHAT ARE THE REASONS OF WHY THAT WOULD GO UP?
>> A VARIETY. BOTH OF OUR HIGH SCHOOLS HAVE EVENINGS WHERE THEY WILL HAVE, LIKE, A COURSE FAIR TIME OF THING BEFORE STUDENTS SIGN UP SO THEY CAN GET AN UNDERSTANDING AND IDEA OF SOMETHING THAT THEY MIGHT WANT TO TAKE, SO IF THEY'VE NOT, YOU KNOW, IF THEY MIGHT HAVE AN INTEREST IN AN AP COURSE, THEY CAN TALK TO INSTRUCTORS FIRSTHAND AND NOT IN A CLASSROOM SETTING TO KIND OF UNDERSTAND, TELL ME ABOUT THIS COURSE AND WOULD BY A GOOD CANDIDATE? HERE'S WHAT I'VE DONE IN THE PAST.
I THINK THE OTHER THING IS WHEN YOU LOOK OVER TIME, WE'VE DONE A REALLY GOOD JOB OF BRINGING ON AP COURSES AT VARYING LEVELS IN THE HIGH SCHOOL YEARS, AND SO THERE ARE SOME COURSES, FOR EXAMPLE, COMPUTER SCIENCE CAME ON A FEW YEARS AGO AS AN AP COURSE. THAT'S A REALLY ACCESSIBLE COURSE FOR FRESHMEN TO COME IN AND TAKE WHO MAY BE REALLY APPREHENSIVE ABOUT DIVING INTO AN ADVANCED PLACEMENT TIME OF COURSE, SO I THINK IT'S A COMBINATION OF THINGS, BUT CERTAINLY, HAVING AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT'S REQUIRED OF THEM, IT'S -- IF IT'S GOING TO BE THEIR FIRST AP CLASS AND THEN WE HAVE KIDS, CERTAINLY, WHO GET ON A TRACK BECAUSE THEY LOVE SCIENCE OR MATH, FOR EXAMPLE, AND THEY MAX OUT IN, AND, YOU KNOW, THEY WANT TO TAKE AS MANY OF THOSE HIGH- LEVEL COURSES AS THEY CAN.
>> SO, BASICALLY, PROVIDING THOSE RESOURCES AT THE TWO HIGH SCHOOLS AND I'M ASSUMING OUR CCA BUILDINGS, THOSE PROGRAMS THERE ARE REALLY HELPING WITH PROMOTING THAT. I JUST WANT TO POINT THAT OUT.
IT'S NOT JUST ONE THING. WE'RE -- WE HAVE THOSE TWO GREAT COLLEGE AND PREP PROGRAMS. IS IT CAREER AND COLLEGE?
>> SO, I JUST WANTED TO POINT OUT THAT'S PRETTY AMAZING, THE
WORK THEY DO. >> WELL, AND AS STUDENTS GO THROUGH THEIR HIGH SCHOOL CAREER, AND THEY START TO HONE IN A LITTLE BIT MORE, PARTICULARLY IF THEY WANT TO GO TO COLLEGE, THEY START HONING IN A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT WHERE I MIGHT WANT TO DO THAT AND UNDERSTANDING WHAT REQUIREMENTS OR WHAT WOULD MAKE ME STAND OUT AS A POTENTIAL STUDENT FOR THAT SCHOOL TO PICK ME. AND THAT MIGHT MEAN TAKING CERTAIN AP COURSES THAT I OTHERWISE MIGHT NOT HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT, SO THAT CAN ALSO PLAY A HAND.
>> ALSO ADD THAT REASON WHYWHY GIVE THE PSAT IS THAT IT GENERATES A REPORT AS WELL. AP POTENTIAL REPORT BASED ON THAT SCORE ON THE AP EXAM, THEN IT KIND OF CALCULATES A LIST OF COURSES, AP COURSES, THAT MAY BE, YOU KNOW, BASED ON THAT SCORE, THAT YOU WOULD BE QUALIFIED TO TAKE.
SO, WE USE A DIAGNOSTIC AS WELL.
>> THE RESULTS AND DATA, MR. URBAN, WHO'S SPEAKING, YOU'RE STATING THAT THE PSATS, THOSE RESULTS ARE TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION AND IT HELPS TO, LIKE, FLAG OR MARK SOME POSSIBILITIES FOR STUDENTS? EXCELLENT. THANK YOU.
>> IT'S A GREAT TOOL. THANK YOU FOR ADDING THAT.
IT'S A GREAT TOOL FOR OUR COUNSELORS TO BE ABLE TO, BEFORE THEY EVEN MEET WITH THE STUDENTS, COME IN AND SAY, HEY, WE NOTICE YOU SCORED AT THIS LEVEL ON THE PSAT.
YOU WOULD BE A GOOD CANDIDATE FOR THESE THREE COURSES, FOR EXAMPLE.
SO, SOME GREAT OPPORTUNITIES TO CELEBRATE SOME ACHIEVEMENT .LET'S TALK ABOUT WHAT'S AHEAD FOR US THIS YEAR BECAUSE WE NEVER WANT TO STOP MOVING FORWARD. IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR WHERE OUR SCHOOLS ARE FINALIZING, THEY'RE NOT PROCESS OF FINALIZING THEIR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLANS. WE WILL, AS A TEAM, BE MEETING WITH EVERY SCHOOL FOR A PRESENTATION OF THOSE HERE IN JUST -- WE START RIGHT AFTER LABOR DAY, AND THOSE ARE ALL DUE TO THE STATE IN EARLY OCTOBER.
AND IT REALLY GIVES US A CHANCE TO SEE, WHO LISTICALLY, WITH EVERY BUILDING, WHAT YOUR SCHOOL GOALS ARE, WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO REALLY FOCUS ON AND YOUR PLAN FOR DOING THAT THROUGHOUT THE -- FOR THE NEXT UPCOMING YEAR. REALLY, OUR TEACHING AND LEARNING TEAM HAS BEEN WORKING REALLY CLOSELY WITH OUR BUILDINGS, BOTH IN THE NIET STRUCTURE AND WITH THEIR PLC WORK. WE DO PLC AT OUR SECONDARY LEVEL. NIDT IS K- 4.
LAST YEAR, I HAVE ON HERE THAT WE'RE ALSO ADDING THAT STRUCTURE FOR OUR INTERMEDIATE SCHOOLS
[00:30:01]
THIS YEAR. AND AT HIJH, THE ENTIRE BUILDING IS WORKING ON THE NIET STRUCTURE. I LEARNED CHECKPOINTS.SO, LAST YEAR, WE PILOTED ILEARN CHECKPOINTS IN GRADES 7 AND 8. WE WANTED TO GET SOME IDEA OF WHAT WOULD BE AHEAD FOR US BECAUSE THIS YEAR, ILEARN CHECKPOINTS ARE REQUIRED FOR EVERY SCHOOL AT ALL TESTING GRADES.
SO, WE WILL HAVEHAVE SEPARATE SMALL ILEARN TESTS THAT WILL TAKE PLACE THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF THE YEAR.
AND THEN, THE SUMMITIVE EXAM, AS WE HAVE TRADITIONALLY, IN LATER IN THE SPRING. SUMMATIVE TEST IS A LITTLE BIT SMALLER BECAUSE OF THE THREE ALONG THE WAY, BUT THE SUMMATIVE TEST IS THE ONE THAT STILL COUNTS IN TERMS OF THE DATA THAT I SHARED WITH YOU. BUT THE THREE ALONG THE WAY HELP US UNDERSTAND, WHAT HAS THE STUDENT LEARNRD? WHAT DO THEY KNOW NOW? WHAT DO THEY NOT KNOW NOW? IT'S NOT REALLY AN ACCOUNTABILITY MEASURE FROM A SCHOOL PERSPECTIVE BUT MORE OF WHAT WE CALL A FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT FOR OUR STUDENTS TO UNDERSTAND WHERE WE'RE AT IN THEIR LEARNING PROCESS, WHAT THEY STILL MIGHT NEED TO WORK ON BEFORE THEY MOVE ALONG THROUGH THE YEAR.
SO, THOSE ARE COMING FOR GRADES
3 THROUGH 8. >> IS THAT HAPPENING FOR EVERY SCHOOL DISTRICT? OR IS THAT JUST SOMETHING WE'RE IMPLEMENTING?
>> NO, EVERY SCHOOL DISTRICT IS REQUIRED, THIS YEAR, TO DO
>> WE'VE GOT A NEW TOOL THAT WE'RE ROLLING OUT TO OUR BUILDINGS CALLED OTIS, WHICH IS REALLY A PROGRAM -- A SOFTWARE PROGRAM THAT IS WEB- BASED THAT REALLY ALLOWS US TO TAKE ALL THE DATA, EDUCATIONAL DATA AVAILABLE TO US, AND VERY SUCCINCTLY RUN REPORTS SO THAT THROUGHOUT THE SCHOOL YEAR, WE CAN MAKE SURE DATA GETS INTO THAT SYSTEM SO THAT WE CAN BETTER UNDERSTAND WHAT STUDENTS ARE ON TRACK, WHAT STUDENTS AREN'T, AND WHAT -- AND THEN ALLOWS TEAMS IN OUR BUILDINGS TO PUT IN THE RIGHT INTERVENTIONS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE GETTING THE STUDENTS A, YOU KNOW, GETTING THEM, IF THEY NEED TO RETEACHING MOMENT, THAT'S HAPPENING.
IF THEY MAY NEED THAT FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME.
SO, WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THAT PROGRAM.
WE ROLLED IT OUT TO PRINCIPALS LAST MONTH AT A PRINCIPALS MEETING, AND JUST GAVE THEM ENOUGH TO REALLY GET THEM EXCITED ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY BECAUSE AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, IT IS PRETTY TIME CONSUMING TO, YOU KNOW, PULL ILEARN DATA FROM THIS PLACE, GO FIND THE, YOU KNOW, THE DATA FROM OVER HERE, THE NWE DATA FROM OVER HERE, AND BE ABLE TO PIECE THAT ALL TOGETHER WHEN YOU HAVE 500 STUDENTS IN YOUR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
SO, THAT CAN BE QUITE A CHORE, AND THIS DOES THIS FOR US REALLY QUICKLY, AND WE THINK IT'S GOING TO MAKE OUR PROCESS OF EVALUATING OUR STUDENTS ALONG THE WAY AND NOT JUST WAITING 'TIL THE END TO SEE HOW THEY DO MUCH MORE SUCCINCT.
MENTIONED THE STRUCTURE OF NIET AT THE INTERMEDIATE LEVEL AND THEN OUR JUNIOR HIGHS DID SOME GREAT WORK LAST YEAR. OUR JUNIOR HIGH TEACHERS IN ENGLISH, COMPOSITION, AND MATH, ABOUT MAKING SURE THAT OUR CURRICULUM MAPS, AS THEY PILOTED THE CHECKPOINTS, ONCE THEY GOT THROUGH THOSE, THAT THEY WERE REALLY CLEARLY DEFINED ABOUT THE SEQUENCE AND SCOPE OF OUR CURRICULUM SO THAT THEY CAN DO EVERYTHING THEY CAN TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE TAUGHT STUDENTS INFORMATION THAT THEY NEED BEFORE THEY TAKE THAT CHECKPOINT AND THAT WE'RE NOT -- IT'S NOT A SITUATION WHERE WE'RE, OH, WE DON'T REALLY DO THAT UNTIL DECEMBER, BUT THE CHECKPOINT ALREADY HAPPENED, AND WE HAVEN'T HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY ASSESS IF THE STUDENT EVEN KNEW THAT INFORMATION OR NOT, BECAUSE THEY MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN TAUGHT IT YET.
AND SO, THEY DID SOME -- A DEEP DIVE INTO THAT WORK, AND THE JUNIOR HIGHS WILL BE USING THAT AS WELL AS SOME FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS ALONG THE WAY NOW TO BE ABLE TO KNOW, WITH THE CHECKPOINTS, HEY, OUR KIDS ARE ON MARK, THEY'RE ACHIEVING WHERE WE WANT THEM TO BEFORE WE GET TO THE END.
SO, THAT'S AN EXPERIENCE LOOKING AHEAD THAT OUR LOWER GRADES WILL ALSO START TO EXPERIENCE AS WE TAKE CHECKPOINTS AND TEACHERS GET A CHANCE TO SAY, OKAY, HERE'S WHAT'S TESTED AT THE FIRST CHECKPOINT. THAT'S SOMETHING I USUALLY DON'T DO UNTIL FEBRUARY.
BUT MAYBE I NEED TO MOVE IT OVER HERE SO THAT WE CAN GET A GOOD ASSESSMENT OF WHERE OUR STUDENTS ARE.
>> SO, THAT'S NEW? OR WE DID SOME OF THAT LAST
YEAR? >> WE DID THAT WORK AT THE JUNIOR HIGH THIS PAST YEAR.
>> AND WE'RE JUST CONTINUING THAT ON NOW? BUT WE HAVEN'T ADDED THAT TO
INTERMEDIATE? >> WELL, THEY'RE GOING TO DO THAT WORK AS THEY GO THROUGH THE CHECKPOINTS THIS YEAR.
>> THANK YOU. >> AND WE ALSO HAVE SOME
[00:35:02]
FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS THAT ARE COMMON ACROSS OUR JUNIOR HIGHS, SO THOSE TEACHERS WILL BE -- ALSO BE ABLE TO SEE NOT JUST WHAT IS MY SEVENTH GRADE MATH STUDENT DOING AT FISHERS JUNIOR HIGH, BUT HOW IS THAT STACKING UP WITH THE OTHER JUNIOR HIGHS SO IT BRINGS MORE UNIFORMITY TO WHAT WE'RE TEACHING IN OUR CURRICULUM ACROSS THE DISTRICT. SO THAT IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT SCHOOL YOU'RE SITTING AT, AND WHAT SCHOOL YOUR CHILD ATTENDS, THEY ARE GETTING THE SAME HIGH-QUALITY EDUCATION IN ALL OF THEM.OTHER QUESTIONS? >> I JUST HAVE ONE MORE THROUGH THE WHOLE PRESENTATION. THE PERCENTAGE AND NUMBERS OF STUDENTS THAT GRADUATED, DO WE HAVE, LIKE, DO WE -- IS THERE A BREAKDOWN ANYWHERE THAT TELLS US HOW MANY OF OUR STUDENTS -- LET'S SAY THERE'S 700 IN A CLASS.
HOW MANY OF THAT -- JUST THE PERCENTAGE HAVE HAD COLLEGE CREDITS GOING INTO COLLEGE? DO WE HAVE A PERCENTAGE OF THAT? LIKE, 700 STUDENTS? 500 OF THEM HAD CREDITS OR 200 OF THEM HAD
CREDITS. >> WE WOULD KNOW -- WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO PULL THAT. WE WILL KNOW FOR SURE OUR STUDENTS WHO SAT FOR ANY OF OUR DUAL CREDIT OFFERINGS THAT THEY DIDN'T NEED, FOR EXAMPLE, AN AP TEST TO FIND OUT.
>> WE'D HAVE TO -- WE CAN PROBABLY USE OTIS TO HELP US WITH THE AP SCORES AND FIND OUT, OKAY, WHAT STUDENTS GOT A 3 OR HIGHER TO MATCH UP THAT NUMBER AND SEE WHERE WE'RE
AT. >> I HAVE A SOPHOMORE IN COLLEGE RIGHT NOW. AND I HAVE HEARD FROM MANY PARENTS AND OTHER COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT SAY, YOU KNOW, MY KID IS GRADUATING IN DECEMBER, AND THEIR KID WAS -- IS A JUNIOR IN COLLEGE RIGHT NOW AND THEY'RE GRADUATING IN DECEMBER, AND THEY CAME FROM OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT, SO WHEN THEY STARTED THEIR SCHOOL, THEY'RE JUST CRUISING ALONG, AND YOU'RE HEARING ABOUT INTERNSHIPS OR, YOU KNOW, INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS THEY'RE GOING TO GO DO, AND I JUST THINK THAT'S ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC THAT WE ARE PROVIDING THAT. WE HAVE BEEN DOING THAT FOR YEARS.
>> YES, WE HAVE. >> BUT IT'S JUST -- I FEEL LIKE WE'RE THROWING AN EMPHASIS ON IT. WE'RE DOING A LOT MORE WITH IT AND I WANT TO CONGRATULATE THE ADMINISTRATION AND OUR TEACHERS FOR FOCUSING ON THAT AND GIVINGGIVING STUDENTS AND FAMILY THAT OPPORTUNITY. THAT'S FOR THE COLLEGE KIDS.
WE HAVE SO MANY OPPORTUNITIES FOR, LIKE I SAID, GOING INTO THE MILITARY, GOING INTO A PROFESSION OR, EXCUSE ME, EMPLOYMENT, OR TRADE SCHOOLS. I GET THAT.
BUT JUST HEARING SOME OF THE THINGS THAT THE COLLEGE PROGRAMS AND HOW WE'RE SO PREPARED, IF YOU WILL, I APPRECIATE THAT.
>> COUPLE COMMENTS AND A QUESTION.
THIS IS AMAZING, THANK YOU, FANTASTIC.
THANK YOU TO OUR TEACHERS, OUR ADMINISTRATORS, PRINCIPALS, EVERYBODY THAT PUTS SO MUCH INTO I CERTAINLY DIDN'T REALIZE HOW MANY PEOPLE GOT INVOLVED IN ALL THESE THINGS BEFORE I SAT HERE, SO THANK YOU.
BUT COUPLE THINGS. ONE -- AND THIS PROBABLY COULD BE AN ENTIRE PRESENTATION ON ITS OWN, BUT WE KEEP HEARING A LOT ABOUT NIET.
>> JUST A LITTLE BACKGROUND ON THAT, WHAT IS IT? WHERE'D IT COME FROM? WE SEEM TO BE ALL IN ON THIS NOW.
JUST TELL ME ABOUT A LITTLE, HOW WE GOT THERE, WHAT IT IS.
I COULD DO A GOOD JOB AT THIS POINT BUT SOMEONE THAT CAN DO A
BETTER JOB IS DR. THOMPSON. >> THANK YOU.
NIET IS A STRUCTURE, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT STRUCTURE, AND AS DR. KEGLY SAID, WE BROUGHT IT IN LAST YEAR WITH OUR K- 4 BUILDINGS.
IT IS INTENTIONAL, BUT -- AND THEN NEW LEARNING THAT IS BROUGHT TO OUR TEACHERS SO THATTHAT THAT DONE AFTER WE GOT INTO CLASSROOMS AND TESTED OUT THOSE DIFFERENT STRATEGIES. WE TAKE THAT TO TEACHERS AND SAY, LOOK, IT WORKS, BECAUSE IT'S WITH OUR KIDS.
WE CAN PROVE TO YOU. AND WE HAVE GROUPS THAT WE WORK WITH, WE BRING IN OUR SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS, SO WE CAN SET A LEVEL, WHEREVER YOU ARE, THIS SPECIFIC STRATEGY IS WORKING.
SO, THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN -- THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE PLC PROCESS -- THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE PLC PROCESS AND THE NIET PROCESS IS THE NEW LEARNING AND THAT'S ALL GENERATED FROM THAT FIELD TESTING, SO WE HAD TEAMS AT EACH OF OUR BUILDINGS, AND THEY WERE THE ONES THAT WERE -- AND THEN WE HAD TEACHER REVIEWS IN THE BUILDING THAT OFFERED THEIR STUDENTS THEIR CLASSROOM TO DO THAT FIELD TESTING, AND OUR INSTRUCTIONAL COACHES, HAVING A FULL- TIME INSTRUCTIONAL COACH IN EVERY BUILDING, THEY ARE KEY IN THIS PRACTICE.
>> DR. FEATHERSTONE, IS THAT JUST K- 4 OR 5 AND 6 ALSO?
[00:40:01]
>> WELL, LAST YEAR IT WAS K- 4 AND THIS YEAR WE INTRODUCED IT TO ALL OF OUR INTERMEDIATES, INCLUDING 7,
8. >> IT SOUNDS LIKE IF I'M HEARING IT RIGHT, AND MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND, IT'S A LITTLE MORE FOCUSED ON DATA, AND THEN USING THAT DATA MORE QUICKLY, IN A MORE STRUCTURED APPROACH, ACT FASTER WITH THOSE --
>> I DON'T WANT TO SAY IT'S MORE FOCUSED ON DATA, BECAUSE OUR PLCS AT THE SECONDARY LEVEL ARE DEFINITELY FOCUSED ON DATA, BUT IT'S MORE ABOUT HOW THE STUDENT WORKS AND THE TEACHER WITH THAT STUDENT OUTCOME.
>> THE OTHER THING IT DOES, IT ENDS THE ISOLATION FOR THE TEACHERS, ESPECIALLY IN THE ELEMENTARIES, AT THE SAME GRADE LEVEL.
WHEN THEY ALL GO BACK AND WORK ON THAT SKILL, AND THEN THEY COME BACK TOGETHER AND THEY BRING THAT STUDENT WORK AND SAID, HOW DID YOUR STUDENTS REACT TO THAT LESSON, AND THEN THEY CAN SHARE INFORMATION AMONGST THEMSELVES SO WE CAN MAKE CERTAIN THAT THAT SKILL GETS TAUGHT. AND AS SHE SAYS, IT DOESN'T MATTER IF IT'S THE HIGH- ABILITY STUDENT, THE GENERAL ED STUDENT, SPECIAL NEEDS STUDENT, WE'RE CONSTANTLY WORKING WITH OUR TEACHERS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HIT ALL OF THOSE LEARNERS, AND THAT'S THE SYSTEM THAT IT PUTS
GREAT. THANK YOU. COUPLE MORE THINGS I NOTICED.
ON SAT MATH SCORES, WERE ALL -- FROM ALL THE DIFFERENT SCHOOLS, IT SEEMED TO BE TRENDING DOWN. IS THAT SOMETHING THAT -- I DON'T KNOW.
DO WE NOTICE THAT? >> WELL, I MEAN, IT IS INTERESTING THAT FROM A COMPOSITE PERSPECTIVE, THEY'RE ALL LOWER THAN THE WRITING, READING AND
WRITING. >> ALMOST EVERYTHING ON THOSE CHARTS, NOT JUST US, WAS GENERALLY STAIRSTEPPING UP. MATH SAT WAS THE ONLY OUTLIER WHERE IT WAS CONSISTENTLY GOING DOWN. I THINK WE DID -- WE IMPROVED, I THINK, ON THAT ONE. I DIDN'T KNOW IF THERE WAS ANY REASON FOR THAT.
IT WAS -- SEEMED LIKE AN OUTLIER.
>> AS A GROUP, IT'S AN OUTLIER, BUT IT DOESN'T GIVE ME MUCH ALARM, BECAUSE WE'RE ALL KIND OF IN THE SAME BOAT IN THAT REGARD. AND AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE SURE WE STILL INCREASE, BUT SEEING SEEING WHERE, AS A GROUP, WE'RE SCORING, IT -- I CAN'T EXPLAIN WHY THEY'RE LOWER THAN THE RAEDING OR THE WRITING, BUT WE'LL WORK WITH IT.
>> STILL, COMPARED TO OTHER DISTRICTS, I MEAN, WE'RE STILL DOING A GOOD JOB. WE'RE STILL ABOVE AVERAGE, AND PERFORMING HIGHLY, BUT JUST INTERESTING THAT THAT ONE WENT DOWN WHEN MOST ALL THE OTHER ONES WENT UP.
AND THEN THE LAST THING I HAD, JUST KIND OF A MORE GENERAL QUESTION, I TRIED A LITTLE BIT TO TRACK ALONGALONG WITH COHORTS AS THEY MOVED.
SUZANNE MENTIONED IT A LITTLE BIT, WATCHING THEM MOVE THROUGH, AND I APPRECIATE THAT YOU PUT FIVE-YEAR NUMBERS IN THERE BECAUSE THAT'S REALLY SINCE THE START OF COVID.
>> IT LOOKS LIKE -- AND THAT'S -- I WANT YOUR OPINION ON THIS -- THAT THOSE KIDS ARE STARTING TO BOUNCE BACK AND --
>> YOU CAN'T EXACTLY TAKE EIGHTH GRADERS NOW AND GO RETEST THEM IN IREAD, BUT THEY ARE MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. DO WE FEEL LIKE WE'VE, I DON'T KNOW, I MEAN, THIS IS A BIG QUESTION, BUT HOW DO WE FEEL ABOUT THE RECOVERY OF THOSE KIDS IS SOMETHING I'VE WORRIED ABOUT THE MOST IF THERE WAS ABOUT A TWO-YEAR, YEAR AND A HALF, TWO-YEAR PERIOD WHERE THEY WERE OUT OF SCHOOL, WE SAW EVERYTHING DROP.
DO YOU FEEL LIKE IT'S COMING BACK, THAT THOSE KIDS THAT ARE NOW EIGHTH GRADE, NINTH GRADE, THAT TENTH GRADE, THAT WINDOW THAT WERE OUR SECOND, THIRD, FOURTH GRADERS ARE PERFORMING WELL?
>> I ABSOLUTELY THINK -- I FEEL LIKE THESE NUMBERS KIND OF BEAR THAT OUT.
BUT THIS IS MATH, AND LANGUAGE ARTS IS A LITTLE LOWER GAIN, BUT THERE'S STILL A GAIN THERE.
I DEFINITELY THINK OUR STUDENTS ARE REGAINING THE SKILLS THAT MAYBE THEY LOST IN THAT TIME PERIOD.
AND I WOULD SAY THAT PROBABLY OVERALL IN A LOT OF AREAS, BUT IN ILEARN, I THINK IT'S A LITTLE MORE PREVALENT.
>> AND THAT FIFTH GRADE YEAR WOULD BE THOSE KINDERGARTNERS. SO, IF YOU -- AND THEN YOU GO SIXTH, SEVENTH, EIGHTH, LOOK HOW STRONG THOSE NUMBERS WENT UP AND CIRCLED BACK, IF YOU WILL.
TO ME, I THINK THAT'S QUITE IMPRESSIVE.
I DON'T KNOW IF EXPECT IS THE RIGHT WORD, BUT COMING IN TO KINDERGARTEN IN COVID, THAT'S SUCH A PIVOTAL TIME THAT'S GOT TO BE TOUGH.
DOING VERY WELL -- >> WELL, AND WE HAD AN ILEARN CHANGE PRIOR TO COVID TOO.
>> AND IT GOT MORE RIGOROUS, AND MR. MAPES HAS SHARED THIS PREVIOUSLY, AND SO, I DON'T THINK WE EVER GOT SOME CONSISTENT INSTRUCTION MAPPED TOWARD THE NEW ILEARN BECAUSE OF COVID AND WE'RE GETTING THAT NOW. WE FEEL GOOD ABOUT THAT
DIRECTION. >> WE DEFINITELY GOT HIT IN
[00:45:05]
MULTIPLE WAYS. WE ALL REMEMBER. BUT AGAIN, JUST KUDOS, THANK YOU, THE DATA SPEAKS FOR ITSELF.>> I HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS. >> SURE.
>> SO, THERE'S A COUPLE GRADES, THIRD GRADE AND FIFTH GRADE TO BE EXACT, WHERE IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S DIPPING THE OTHER DAY. WHAT ARE WE DOING TO CORRECT THAT?
>> I THINK ALL THE SYSTEMS THAT I SHARED WITH YOU JUST AT THE END SLIDE ARE THINGS THAT WE HAVE IN PLACE TO, AGAIN -- I DON'T THINK THAT -- WHAT IS IT? 1.5% DIP COULD BE A CLASS ISSUE.
IT COULD BE A -- IT DOESN'T NECESSARILY MEAN IT'S A PROGRAMMATIC ISSUE, WHICH IS WHY I PUT THE FIVE-YEAR CHANGE THERE.
WE DON'T -- I AM A LITTLE HESITANT TO BE HYPERSENSITIVE TO BIG CURRICULAR CHANGES WHEN LOOKING AT ONE YEAR. THAT DOESN'T MEAN WE DON'T PAY ATTENTION TO IT, AND AT THE BUILDING LEVEL, THEY'RE LOOKING AT THAT DATA AND SAYING, OKAY, WHAT IS THIS TELLING US ABOUT OUR KIDS? BECAUSE OFTENTIMES, WE'LL HEAR IN OUR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PRESENTATIONS, WE'LL HEAR PRINCIPALS DEBRIEF US ON, OUR TEACHERS, WE DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY OUR KIDS -- WE THOUGHT THEY WERE READY TO GO FOR THIS EXAM, AND IT DIDN'T HAPPEN.
SO, THOSE ARE THINGS THAT THEY REALLY LOOK AT AT THE BUILDING LEVEL TO MAKE THE KIND OF MINOR TWEAKS THAT WOULD MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN TERMS OF INSTRUCTIONAL DELIVERY.
>> AND THEN, IF YOU'RE LOOKING BETWEEN 2021 AND 2022, AT MOST GRADES, IT SEEMS LIKE THE GREATEST GAINS HAPPENED THERE AND THEN STARTED TRENDING DOWN AND NOW IT'S PICKING BACK UP. WHAT DO YOU ATTRIBUTE THAT TO?
>> I DON'T HAVE A, WE DID THIS AT A CERTAIN TIME THAT WOULD POINT TO THAT.
>> OKAY. >> I THINK IT COULD BE A CLASS-RELATED ISSUE OR, YOU KNOW, AS THE GROUPS MOVED THROUGH, BUT IT'S HARD TO TELL.
>> THANK YOU. >> YOU'RE WELCOME.
>> DAWN, DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION
OR COMMENT? >> I WOULD LOVE TO SEE MORE DESEGREGATED DATA BY SCHOOL SO WE CAN REALLY LOOK AT HOW THE SCHOOLS ARE PERFORMING ACROSS NOT JUST THE GRADES BUT BUILDING BY BUILDING. AND WITH THAT, WHAT ADDITIONAL RESOURCES MIGHT BE NEEDED TO SUSTAIN OR ACCELERATE -- OF EITHER POTENTIAL -- STATE FUNDING CHANGES? HOW ARE YOU PROACTIVELY LOOKING AT THAT?
>> JEFF, DID YOU GET ALL THAT?
>> WE CAN'T HEAR YOU, DAWN, UNFORTUNATELY.
>> SHE WANTS IT DISAGGREGATED BY SCHOOLS IF POSSIBLE, BUT THAT'S ABOUT ALL I GOT.
>> LET ME KNOW IF THEY'RE READY.
>> OKAY. SO, I APPRECIATE ALL OF THE DATA. ONE OF THE THINGS I WOULD LOVE TO SEE IS DESEGREGATED DATA BY SCHOOL TO LOOK ATAT HOW IDENTIFYING BRIGHT SPOTS OR CHALLENGES. I KNOW YOU PROBABLY DO THAT WITH YOUR STEPS WHEN YOU'RE PLANNING FOR EACH BUILDING, BUT THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL. I NOTICE SOME DEMOGRAPHIC BREAKS, ESPECIALLY, WITH SOME OF OUR SPANISH- SPEAKING GROUPS. YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT RESOURCES AND THOSE TYPES OF THINGS, AND WITH THAT, ONE OF THE QUESTIONS THAT I REALLY HAD REALLY COMES AT WHAT ADDITIONAL RESOURCES -- TO SUSTAIN OR ACCELERATE SOME OF THESE IMPROVEMENTS AND THE POTENTIAL ENROLLMENT -- WHAT KIND OF PLANNING OR FORECASTING ARE YOU THINKING THROUGHOUT THAT ONE?
>> WE CAN CERTAINLY DIVE INTO THAT DATA AND SEE WHAT WE CAN PULL FOR YOU AND SHARE THAT WITH THE BOARD.
>> SO -- BUT I DID WANT TO START BY SAYING THANK YOU FOR SHARING THE INFORMATION, AND THANK YOU AND CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR TEACHERS AND OUR STUDENTS AND OUR BUILDING ADMINISTRATORS AND COACHES AND ALL THE PEOPLE THAT WORKED REALLY HARD FOR THIS FIVE-YEAR CHANGE.
I MEAN, WE'RE NOT EVEN JUST LOOKING AT THIS YEAR'S
RIGHT. >> FIVE YEARS, RIGHT? AND JUST MAKE SURE WE CLEAR UP ANY MISUNDERSTANDING THAT MAY
[00:50:01]
BE OUT IN THE COMMUNITY THAT THE BOARD DESERVES THIS RECOGNITION FOR THESE SCORES, BECAUSE THAT IS NOT THE CASE. AGAIN, THANK YOU, AND CONGRATULATIONS TO THE STUDENTS AND THE TEACHERS. AND THE ADMINISTRATION.I DID RECEIVE A QUESTION, AND SO I WANTED TO ASK IT HERE.
IF YOU COULD TOUCH ON WHY WE'RE CONTINUING TO USE THINGS LIKE NWEA AND THAT SORT OF FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS ALONG WITH THE NEW CHECKPOINT SYSTEM.
>> NWEA IN SPECIFIC IS WE DECIDED WE HAVE HAD SOME CONVERSATION ABOUT NOT CONTINUING TO USE NWEA.
WE ALSO HAVE -- AND THE STATE, THROUGH THEIR FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT GRANT, WHICH WE OFTEN USE THOSE FUNDS TO HELP OFFSET THE COST OF NWEA, WE DECIDED TO GO AHEAD AND USE IT THIS YEAR BECAUSE WE WANTED TO PUT IT SIDE-BY-SIDE WITH THE CHECKPOINTS TO SEE IF THE DATA THAT THE CHECKPOINTS ARE SUPPOSED TO PRODUCE AND PROVIDE FOR US GIVE US THETHE KIND OF INFORMATION THAT THE NWEA TEST DOES.
AND WE KNOW THEY'RE NOT EXACTLY THE SAME, AND THAT'S NOT WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO TEST HERE.
BUT REALLY, IS WHAT -- IS IT TESTING WHAT IT'S SUPPOSED TO MEASURE? AND WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR US AS A DISTRICT? WE OFTEN USE, FOR EXAMPLE, OUR NWEA DATA TO DETERMINE HIGH ABILITY PLACEMENT, AND THE
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.