REPORTS TO THE BOARD

Columbia Elementary Reopening Report

Return of K-4 Students

The return of K-4 students is going well. After having all of her students for a couple of days, I had one particular teacher say "This is the most normal I have felt all year." Another teacher expressed that the return of all students has brought new energy not only to them personally but to the building as a whole. "It's very similar to the first day of school." Students seem to be happy, families are thankful and staff members are rejuvenated.

2021 Spring Parent-Teacher Conferences

For the first time, CES will be using Skyward for conference sign-ups. In previous years, teachers called each family individually. The goal for this Spring is to utilize the Skyward program and call families who do not have access or ability to use Skyward.

Instructional and Academic Update

As you know, CES has been delving deep into both student and schoolwide data to make our instructional decisions. After looking at our fall and winter benchmark data, it was clear that some instructional changes needed to be made to meet the needs of our students. Some of our changes were in engagement, time allocations, the grouping of students, and delivery of instruction. For third and fourth-grade students, it was apparent that our students needed something more. We've recently purchased and trained our teachers in two supplemental programs. The first program is called Killpatrick, which targets skills in advanced phonemic awareness. The second is called 95% Group Multisyllabic Routines and is designed to teach the six syllable types in reading. Both of these programs will aid in our student’s ability to read the grade-level text and allow the cognitive load to shift away from decoding and towards comprehension.

Dr. Seuss Week = SUCCESS

CES participated in Dr. Seuss week. The goal behind the week was to create a focus on literacy and enjoy the birthday celebration of Dr. Seuss. With the return of second grade, all second-grade students will be participating in the celebration the week of March 8th.

A special thank you goes to the Woodland Kiwanis for donating both Dr. Seuss hats along with enough books for all of our 1st-grade students.