Curriculum director outlines LEARNS Act response as district narrows at‑risk third graders to six

Debbie Wilson, Harrison’s curriculum director, briefed the board on the district’s implementation of the LEARNS Act third‑grade retention provisions and the steps the district has taken to identify and support students at risk of retention.

Wilson said the district compiled a third‑grade retention tracker that follows students who scored a level one on the Atlas assessment at the end of second grade. She reported the district identified 89 students at that level last year; by fall assessments that number had declined to 60, winter assessment showed 40, and 'currently we have just six students that are at a level one and do not have a good cause exemption,' Wilson said. She explained the district documents interventions and parent contact so school teams and parents won’t be surprised by retention decisions.

Wilson reviewed the permissible 'good cause' exemptions (significant cognitive disability, documented intensive intervention without progress, English language learners in the district for fewer than three years, prior retention, documented two years of intervention in a portfolio, and isolated traumatic events). She also described required supports: assignment to a highly qualified teacher (HQT), evidence‑based 'science of reading' (SOR) instruction, read‑at‑home plans, access to literacy tutoring grants, and a school‑maintained database to monitor progress.

Wilson said DESE told districts that students the district plans to retain can be promoted if they attend a combined summer enrichment/21st Century program for five weeks, attend daily and complete 90 minutes of reading instruction, and show sufficient progress; DESE also permits a June retest in narrowly defined circumstances. The presentation was informational; no board vote was required.