After learning Tami Shepman, reading lab instructor and Julie Buzard, reading facilitator  at Great Bend Middle School had seen 80 percent gains in reading fluency and 77 percent gains in reading comprehension amongst nearly 20 percent, the USD 428 Board of Education had questions.   Vice-president Joyce Carter asked on what assessments the gains were based.  In May, when the district adopted the in-house assessment tool AIMSWeb, students were given benchmark tests.  It’s from these results, and subsequent AIMSWeb short assessments given every two weeks, that the results come from.  
“That’s huge,” Carter said.
Significant gains are also being made in the math lab, according to Laurie Harwood, math facilitator and Katie Lear, eighth grade math lab instructor.  
This is the first year that teachers are fully implementing Multi-tiered systems of support, or MTSS, in both reading and math, and so far, the results have teachers and administrators excited.  By monitoring each student individually, teachers are able to determine right away if students are gaining proficiency, and if they fall behind, they are able to make adjustments right away, which is helping to keep students that are struggling to keep up with the level they need to be at, while allowing those that are not to “drill down” further in their lessons with enrichment activities.
What did concern board members was the fact that about 20 percent of middle school students began school below grade level.  While this is consistent with national trends, Superintendent Brad Reed said, it’s why the district has invested so much in MTSS.
“It will take time initially to build the program, but we’re heading towards becoming better aligned,” he said.  
Board member Dwight Young ventured to ask if the results would lead to a long sought answer.
“Will this answer the question once and for all, “Success for All,” or “Direct Instruction?” he asked, referring to the two proprietary systems used in elementary schools in the district to teach reading and math.  This was a question Reed and Popp weren’t prepared for.
“We didn’t enter into this to address that question,” Popp said.  Reed explained that once the systems were better aligned, and the district could compare apples to apples, then it could be addressed.  
“The main thing is to keep students learning at grade level,” Popp said.  “But of course, if it turns out that students from one program do far better than those from another, we’ll have to take that into consideration.”
Much of the credit for the gains so far was attributed not only to new assessment tools, but also what teachers are able to do with them.
“Prior to AIMSWeb, we had noting to measure across the district,” Assistant superintendent John Popp said.   Teachers can also take into consideration the human factors, like illness for instance, that may have kept a student from doing their best on any particular day.  The time spent in the reading and math labs can also be kept to a minimum so students can move back into enrichment activities quickly too.
“To find this kind of progress so early on is fantastic,” Carter said.  

Other items of discussion included:

*Renee Buntain, seventh grade English teacher, reported on enrichment activities students were taking part in this quarter.
*Jenn Wondra, chairperson for the seventh grade orientation committee talked about the need for a formal orientation day for incoming students next year.  Areas of focus include learning how to quickly open lockers, providing tours and helping students find class rooms, understanding the different red and black day schedules, password management and lunch routines.  Using eighth grade student council members as student ambassadors is also being considered.
*The board approved the hiring of three new teachers who will begin teaching at the start of the second semester in January.  All three are newly graduated and have been student teachers in the district this year.  They include Morgan Fletchall, fifth grade at Park, Tarra Foster, Direct Instruction at Park, and Crystal Hanson, SFA teacher/tutor at Lincoln.
*The board also approved a request by Park Elementary to proceed in seeking grants from a slate of entities in an effort to raise additional funds for improvements to the school playground.  At the Nov. 10 meeting, an anonymous donation of $5,000 for that purpose was accepted.  
*Members of the boys cross country team were recognized by their coach, Greg Wells, for their achievements this fall.  Jesus Sanchez received special recognition because he won every race he competed in this year, Wells said.  
*A brief discussion about transportation and lodging arrangements for the upcoming KASB convention on Dec. 5 was conducted.  Three board members and Reed are planning to attend, and will drive separately.  They have been invited to attend a dinner the night before the convention kicks off, and will let Reed know if they plan to attend via email.  Reed reminded board members that arrangements had been made to charge meals back to their rooms on the district credit card, but meals for family members, premium movies and alcoholic beverages were the responsibility of the members.  

The board will hold their next official meeting on Monday, Dec. 8 at 5 p.m. at the district offices.