District reports midyear gains after full‑day kindergarten pilot

Mr. Herling, the district presenter on elementary data, told the committee that the district’s expanded full‑day kindergarten pilot is showing midyear gains in foundational literacy and math diagnostics. “This year, their first time doing iReady diagnostic, we have about 59, almost 60 percent of our students are either earlier on grade level or above,” he said, comparing that to roughly 38 percent during last year’s single–class pilot.

He explained that diagnostic measures (iReady) assess student skills at a point in time and that benchmark assessments (LinkIt) map to state standards. Mr. Herling reported LinkIt results of approximately 83% proficiency in math and about 80% proficiency in ELA for kindergarten. He said diagnostic measures such as letter identification, letter sounds and phonemic segmentation have shown growth between fall and the February midyear administration.

Board members and administrators asked for follow‑up analyses. One director asked whether the district could compare students who remained in half‑day classes with those in full‑day to isolate the program effect; Mr. Herling said he could provide that comparison. The chair also suggested tracking the current kindergarten cohort into first grade to assess longer-term impacts.

The presentation noted that assessments will be administered again in May; Mr. Herling emphasized continued core instruction consistency and targeted small‑group interventions to support students who remain below benchmarks.