Discovery Elementary reports midyear gains; principal highlights lead measures and interventions

Discovery Elementary Principal Tammy Christensen briefed the board on Jan. 8 about the school's midyear academic data and interventions, reporting progress on multiple lead measures aligned to a district improvement plan.

Christensen said Discovery has 657 students, 28 teachers and 77 staff members and identified the school’s Wildly Important Goal: increase proficiency by 4 percent in all tested areas by the end of the school year. To support the goal, Discovery tracks four lead measures: instructional framework use, PBIS (positive behavioral interventions and supports), PLC (professional learning community) cycles and academic interventions.

Christensen presented midyear snapshots: kindergarten proficiency and some grade bands were ahead of the year-start targets; i-Ready diagnostic and other interim measures showed growth from the beginning to the middle of the year. She said the school has begun tracking the percentage of intervention lessons delivered and the effectiveness of those lessons (rated 3/2/1), which allows staff to reassign students to more targeted instruction when needed.

Christensen also summarized recent community outreach and student-support activities: a change-for-change drive, a food drive that collected 3,792 pounds of food for the local pantry, and a giving tree that provided gifts to identified families. Board members praised the data-driven approach and asked questions about observation frequency and intervention delivery; Christensen said the number of principal classroom observations has increased substantially compared with past practice and that interventions are being adjusted based on assessment results.

Why it matters
Discovery’s report shows how one school in the district is applying district instructional priorities to classroom practice and tracking interventions; the board noted those lead measures inform district-level monitoring and support.