Board moves to adopt measurable goals and guardrails for student outcomes; targets set for 2030

Chief of Staff Lamar Blackwell presented the administration's recommended metrics to operationalize the board's policy 010 student outcome goals and guardrails, saying the targets were developed using a state formula and comparative peer-district analysis. Blackwell framed the change as part of a "student outcomes-focused governance" approach that gives the board goal-level direction and the administration responsibility for execution.

Using the 2024–25 school year as a baseline, Blackwell proposed annual growth targets that translate to five-year goals: third-grade ELA proficiency rising from 43.9% to 54.7% by 2030 (about 2.2% annual growth), third-grade math from 40.7% to 52.1% (about 2.3% annual growth), and cohort graduation rate from 84.9% to 87.8% (about 0.6% annual growth). He said industry-based credential metrics are being finalized once the career-and-technical-education baseline is established.

Board members asked when the industry-based credential baseline will be available (Blackwell: the administration expects a baseline by the end of the school year), and how the board will handle approving a policy when one goal lacks a finalized metric (Blackwell: present the policy for approval in April with the credential metric listed as "to be determined" and return an update when the baseline is set).

Blackwell said the administration will present the full package, including the metrics, for board action in April. The presentation emphasized that the guardrails (safety, equitable access to courses and opportunities, prioritizing historically underserved students, and considering student impact in major decisions) must constrain implementation choices as the district pursues the goals.

Next steps: the administration will finalize the industry-based credential baseline and related metric, post policy 010 with the proposed metrics for board consideration in April and update the board once credentials are tallied.