Jacksonville Elementary principal reports gains in classroom engagement and literacy

Principal Miller updated the Jacksonville North Pulaski School District board on instructional and culture work at Jacksonville Elementary School, reporting measurable improvements in classroom engagement and literacy interventions.

"We saw, over a 35% increase in that, and to where almost 80% of our classrooms are now operating at a level that we would say, hey, we're seeing all students being engaged," Principal Miller said, describing district and building walk-throughs used to assess teaching and student participation. She identified three main questions used in the walks: whether learning is required for all students, whether teachers are using adopted high-quality instructional materials, and whether teachers are exposing students to grade-level standards.

On literacy, Miller highlighted use of the Lexia intervention program. "When we started the year, we only had 2 percent of our scholars who were performing above grade level [on Lexia]. That's now shifted to 16% of scholars," she said, adding that roughly 30% of students moved into working on grade-level material. She described incentives — certificates and a "book vending machine" reward — and family events such as trunk-or-treat and Grandparents' Day as part of the strategy to build school culture and engagement.

Miller said the school is focusing on decoding and comprehension in early grades, more manipulatives in math instruction, and cross-grade-level modeling of writing strategies so teachers can share effective lessons. She said the building will continue month-to-month monitoring of instruction to sustain gains.

Board members asked whether district leaders would help scale instructional supports; Miller and district staff described ongoing coaching and planned teacher collaboration sessions in March.

The presentation concluded with board thanks to Miller and moved on to other agenda items.