MacArthur leaders credit PLCs, small‑group reading and behavior tracking for quick gains
May 21, 2026 | Germantown School District, School Districts, Wisconsin
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MacArthur Elementary leaders presented their year‑end review to the Germantown School District board on May 19, describing a coordinated effort to raise instructional clarity and target student needs.
The presenter said the school used a 90‑day plan focused on three priorities — alignment around district goals, upstream academic interventions and creating a safe, nurturing environment — and asked the board to note concrete classroom practice changes tied to those priorities. She described a 15‑day professional learning community (PLC) challenge in which a fourth‑grade team tested and revised small‑group instruction and “win time” groupings; after targeted changes, the team reported measurable improvement on a post test within two weeks.
Reading‑room staff member Joe Hollins described how instructional aids and a reading specialist push into classrooms during a daily 30‑minute small‑group block to support decoding, fluency, comprehension and reading responses. Hollins said the model allowed teachers to observe authentic instruction; he described a GoPro video that captured unscripted classroom push‑in visits to illustrate the work.
Leaders also outlined behavior practices they say give teachers clearer decision rules and data. The presentation described a color‑coded behavior matrix to guide staff on when to handle incidents in class versus when to involve administrators or counselors, and the team reported that staff logged behavioral incidents into the NextPath data warehouse so patterns could be tracked. The presenter reported roughly 721 recorded incidents to date and said each had an associated parent contact and follow‑up plan.
The presentation emphasized teacher collaboration, explicit progress monitoring and family partnerships. MacArthur staff credited these practices for both improved literacy indicators and more coordinated behavior responses, and said they will continue to scale successful PLC practices across grade levels.
The board received the report and thanked the MacArthur team for the presentation. No formal vote was required.
The presenter said the school used a 90‑day plan focused on three priorities — alignment around district goals, upstream academic interventions and creating a safe, nurturing environment — and asked the board to note concrete classroom practice changes tied to those priorities. She described a 15‑day professional learning community (PLC) challenge in which a fourth‑grade team tested and revised small‑group instruction and “win time” groupings; after targeted changes, the team reported measurable improvement on a post test within two weeks.
Reading‑room staff member Joe Hollins described how instructional aids and a reading specialist push into classrooms during a daily 30‑minute small‑group block to support decoding, fluency, comprehension and reading responses. Hollins said the model allowed teachers to observe authentic instruction; he described a GoPro video that captured unscripted classroom push‑in visits to illustrate the work.
Leaders also outlined behavior practices they say give teachers clearer decision rules and data. The presentation described a color‑coded behavior matrix to guide staff on when to handle incidents in class versus when to involve administrators or counselors, and the team reported that staff logged behavioral incidents into the NextPath data warehouse so patterns could be tracked. The presenter reported roughly 721 recorded incidents to date and said each had an associated parent contact and follow‑up plan.
The presentation emphasized teacher collaboration, explicit progress monitoring and family partnerships. MacArthur staff credited these practices for both improved literacy indicators and more coordinated behavior responses, and said they will continue to scale successful PLC practices across grade levels.
The board received the report and thanked the MacArthur team for the presentation. No formal vote was required.
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