Bearcat Wrap-up Podcast - Wrapping Up the 2023-2024 School Year

Episode Date: May 23, 2024

Happy Last Day!Although this is not the last day for several of you, it is for most. But, as we conclude another remarkable year at Mena Public Schools, it is with great pride that we reflect on our journey and accomplishments. This year, our focus was on achieving specific performance targets that would enhance the educational experience for our students and foster a culture of excellence within our community. Through the unwavering dedication of our staff, the enthusiasm of our students, and the supportive involvement of our parents and community members, we have made significant strides toward our goals. Join us as we celebrate the milestones reached, acknowledge the challenges overcome, and look ahead to the bright future we are building together.Mena Public Schools Performance Summary for the 2023-2024 School YearAs we wrap up the 2023-2024 school year, we take pride in reflecting on our performance targets and the progress we have made towards our goals. Below is a summary of our achievements and areas for improvement across various metrics.AttendanceTarget: 93.5% Actual: 92.8%Reflection: Our continuous efforts to improve attendance have been fruitful, driven by initiatives such as increasing student engagement activities, providing information on the importance of attendance, enhancing sanitation efforts, and appointing staff to assist students and families. Even though we did not hit our target, our attendance rate increased this year.DisciplineTarget: 10% reduction in discipline referrals Actual: 22.8% increaseReflection: We have actively participated in the Arkansas THRIVE project and built BX3 teams to develop tiered behavior support systems. Our data-driven approach has helped address and reduce disciplinary issues effectively. The improved tracking of referrals that resulted from these efforts increased the number of referrals. Our target will remain the same for next year and the data will be more accurate.English Language Arts (ELA)Target: 70% on-grade-level performance Actual: 54.5% on grade-levelReflection: Through the establishment of essential learning standards and a new standards-based curriculum, we have made significant strides in ELA performance. The collaborative efforts to identify and address student needs have shown positive outcomes. Despite not hitting our target, our growth this year was good. We moved over 10 percent of our students into the ‘ready’ or ‘exceeding’ categories this year which translates to 170 of our students. Furthermore, those who did not move into those categories still grew and we will know how much when ATLAS results come out. Check out the Performance Targets website to see the graphs representing how this year has gone.MathematicsTarget: 60% on-grade-level performance Actual: 49.6% on grade-levelReflection: Aligning K-12 instruction with Eureka Math and Illustrative Mathematics, implementing MathQuest, and providing targeted support and tutoring have contributed to steady progress in math performance. Despite not hitting our target, our growth this year was good. We moved over 8.25 percent of our students into the ‘ready’ or ‘exceeding’ categories this year which translates to 140 of our students. Furthermore, those who did not move into those categories still grew and we will know how much when ATLAS results come out. Check out the Performance Targets website to see the graphs representing how this year has gone.Looking AheadWe acknowledge the areas where further improvements are needed and remain committed to our students' success. Our strategies, grounded in data analysis and community support, are paving the way for sustained academic excellence and personal growth for all students.Thank you to our dedicated staff, supportive families, and hardworking students for contributing to this year’s accomplishments. We look forward to continuing our journey of educational excellence in the coming year.ClosingPlease note that the ATLAS scores, which are critical for evaluating our science performance, will be available in the fall, and the final graduation rate for this academic year is still pending and will be reported once the final determination is in.It was another good year for us at Mena Public Schools!At Mena Public Schools our students are prepared, our staff is supported, and our community is confident.Have a nice summer! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bearcatwrap.substack.com

Good afternoon and welcome to the last wrap-up for the 23-24 school year entitled Wrapping Up the 2023-2024 School Year. Until ATLAS results are in, we will not have the full picture of our performance, but our progress monitoring can give us some indications of how we did. Happy last day. Although this is not the last day for several of you, it is for most, but as we conclude another remarkable year at Neenah Public Schools, it is with great pride that we reflect on our journey and accomplishments. This year, our focus was on achieving specific performance targets that would enhance the educational experience for our students and foster a culture of excellence within our community. Through the unwavering dedication of our staff, the enthusiasm of our students,

and the supportive involvement of our parents and community members, we have made significant strides towards our goals. Join us as we celebrate the milestones reached, acknowledge the challenges overcome, and look ahead to the bright futures we are building together. Mena Public Schools Performance Summary for the 2023-2024 school year. As we wrap up the 2023-2024 school year, we take pride in reflecting on our performance targets and the progress we have made towards our goals. Below is a summary of our achievements

and areas for improvement across various metrics. Attendance. Our target was 93.5%. Our actual was 92.8%. Reflection. Our continuous efforts to improve attendance have been fruitful, driven by initiatives such as increasing student engagement activities, providing information on the importance of attendance, enhancing sanitation efforts, and appointing staff to assist students and families. Even though we did not hit our target, our attendance rate increased this year compared to last. Discipline. Target was a 10% reduction in discipline referrals when we actually had an increase of 22.8 percent.

we've actively participated in the Arkansas Thrive Project and built BX3 teams to develop tiered behavior support systems. Our data-driven approach has helped address and reduce disciplinary issues effectively. The improved tracking of referrals that resulted from these efforts increased the number of referrals. Our target will remain the same for next year and the data will be more accurate. English Language Arts. Our target was 70% on grade level performance. Our actual performance was 54.5 percent in reflection through the

establishment of essential learning standards and new standards-based curriculum we have made significant strides in ela performance the collaborative efforts to identify and address student needs have shown positive outcomes despite not our target, our growth this year was good. We moved over 10 percent of our students into the ready or exceeding categories this year, which translates to 170 of our students. Furthermore, those who did not move into those categories still grew, and we will know how much when ATLAS results come out. Check out the performance targets website to see the graphs representing how this year

has gone. There's a link in the text. Mathematics. Target was 60% on grade level performance. Actual performance was 49.6 on grade level. Reflection. Actual performance was 49.6 on grade level. In reflection, aligning K-12 instruction with Eureka Math and illustrative mathematics, implementing MathQuest, and providing targeted support and tutoring have contributed to steady progress in math performance. Despite not hitting our target, our growth this year was good. We moved 8.25%

of our students into the ready or exceeding categories this year, which translates to 140 more of our students. Furthermore, those who did not move into those categories still grew, and we will know just how much when the Atlas results come out. Again, you can check out the graphs in the Performance Targets website with the link in the text. Looking ahead, we acknowledge the areas where further improvements are needed and remain committed to our students' success. improvements are needed and remain committed to our student success. Our strategies, grounded in data analysis and community support, are paving the way for sustained academic excellence and personal growth for all students. Thank you to our dedicated staff, supportive families, and hard-working students for

contributing to this year's accomplishments. We look forward to continuing our journey of educational excellence in the coming year. In closing, please note that the ATLAS scores, which are critical for evaluating our science performance, will be available in the fall and the final graduation rate for this academic year is still pending and will be reported once the final determination is in. It was another good year for us at Mena Public Schools. At Mena Public Schools, our students are prepared, our staff is supported, and our community is confident. Have a nice summer.