Teachers and district say full‑day kindergarten shows early gains; district to survey families

Michael Crawford, the district’s director of elementary education, opened the discussion on full‑day kindergarten and introduced Churchill Elementary teacher Kimberly Bender, who described classroom changes and student work since the program expanded. "So the first thing right away is our curriculum. It's huge making a big difference for the kids," Bender said, describing more complete implementation of Reading Horizons, daily Bridges math and monthlong PlayLab units that integrate science and social studies.

Bender said students are reading passages, mastering high‑frequency words ("We've already learned 50. We'll be learning 91") and engaging in cooperative tasks that build vocabulary and problem solving. District staff said kindergarten screening days used last year were helpful for orienting families and informing principals about incoming students; the screenings will be held again in June.

Data analyst Tom Barnes told the committee the district’s midyear screeners show durable cohort gains and highlighted the first data point from a full‑day kindergarten cohort: "This is your first fully to kindergarten data point, which is 13.1 points of higher," Barnes said, noting that the finding is an early single data point and that screeners are formative measures.

Board members asked how parents should interpret scores that often sit in the 60s and 70s. Barnes and other staff emphasized screeners (DIBELS/Acadience) are quick, normative indicators used to spot students who need support rather than summative classroom grades; the district plans more parent communications explaining the purpose of each screener and will survey families at school year’s end to collect feedback.

The committee did not take formal action at the meeting; staff said they will return with additional survey and assessment context for families and with any next steps the board asks them to pursue.