At Monday’s regular meeting of the USD 503 Board of Education, the instructional coach for Lincoln shared the good news that the percentage of students entering Lincoln “kindergarten ready” has continued to increase.
Students are screened prior to entering kindergarten using the Kindergarten Readiness Snapshot as a tool to determine if children have reached developmental milestones, as well as to identify their needs so instructors can tailor instruction to them and provide needed support. This year, 68% entered kindergarten at or above grade level in math and 56% in reading compared to 66% and 49% in 2024 respectively.
Other elementary grades have seen increases in percentages of students who enter at benchmark levels. For example, fifth grade math saw a 14% increase in students entering at benchmark, an increase from 50% to 64%.
Tests are administered again throughout the year to determine how students are advancing in learning. The dedicated instructional coaches for each building reported good gains for students so far in lower grades. Jane Good reported the high school has remained fairly level in its benchmark percentages, except for the incoming freshman class, which showed increases.
Instructional coaches also updated the board on curriculum alignment.
Guthridge instructional coach Michell Piva explained that curriculum alignment is a process of ensuring the learning goals, planned instruction, actual teaching and methods of student assessment are all working together to achieve student outcomes. It also includes mapping curriculum to state standards, and ensuring curriculum builds on itself across grade levels and horizontally across different courses, and vertically to improve student outcomes. Curriculum alignment is important as it provides a clearer pathway for students to learn intended content and skills, provides instructional coherence and ensures what is taught, how it is taught, and how it is assessed are all working towards the same goals, making instruction more effective. Piva said curriculum alignment also helps reduce achievement disparities and ensure comprehensive learning.
Piva and other instructional coaches explained their processes, including how teachers document what they are teaching, share what curriculum they are using and their assessments of it and whether it worked for them or not. The information is accessible to other teachers, and as new instructors come to the district, they add to the list of instructional data the curriculum they bring with them to try.
“It is an excellent opportunity for teachers to take a look at what others are doing and what is working,” Good said.
Superintendent Lori Ray said curriculum alignment is an ongoing process: “Curriculum is a living document.”
IN OTHER BUSINESS, the board: Heard October is National School Principals Month.
Heard Oct. 24 is Bus Driver Appreciation Day.
Heard Oct. 24 is early dismissal at noon/ staff is working on grades for end of first nine weeks.
Heard Oct. 27 will be parent teacher conferences from 4 to 7:30 p.m.for all grade levels. Oct. 28 will be high school/middle school conferences from 4 to 7:30 p.m. and Oct. 29 elementary conferences will be 4 to 7:30 p.m.
Discussed first reading of the job descriptions for the superintendent, assistant superintendent and communications officer.
Accepted $1,535.59 in donations for the month of August.
Discussed Parent Engagement and Staff Surveys.
