Keeping track of student progress involves collaboration and planning, as was revealed by a discussion during a presentation at the RSU 12 School Board meeting June 14 in Windsor.

University of Maine staff members gave a presentation on the Maine Literacy Partnership program, which focuses on grades k-6. It is aimed at improving student performance through teachers’ professional development and collaboration. There is a full description of the program on the University of Maine website.

“Teachers that serve the community want to do their very best,” program director Marcia Nye Boody said. The program provides the additional support instructors need and added features that allow staff to monitor student success.

One of these features is a web-based communication system for school districts.

University of Maine data analyst Brian Dorr said the need to address literacy problems early on is critical. Students who are unable to read at the expected level by the third grade never catch up to their peers and learning difficulties compound thereafter. He said the percentage of students who don’t meet grade level literacy requirements is high in Maine and tracking student progress is an important part to improving district-wide learning rates.

A real-time progress monitoring system, called the Comprehensive Instructional Model for Maine is aimed at addressing this issue. The statewide program helps students who have difficulty transitioning to new surroundings and learning environments and school staff who need more information about students arriving from other schools.

Addressing concerns that the system creates a sense of urgency, Dorr said it is a communication tool that provides teachers in all areas of a school district to track student progress and share information.
“This is not intended as a replacement for what you’re doing,” he said.

Assistant Superintendent Patricia Watts said a number of teachers have expressed their interest in participating in the professional development program.

Most recently, about 23 teachers across the district have applied for the “I-3” grant, known as the Investing in Innovation Fund offered through the U.S. De-partment of Education. It provides funding for teachers who want to receive professional development and who have demonstrated that they are invested in improving student achievement.

“It’s a good response,” Watts said during a follow-up interview. “I think it would make major shifts in reading and writing.”

Watts submitted a report on reading and writing comprehension to board members during a meeting last month.

Annual New England Common Assessment Program (known as the NECAP) testing results showed, over a two-year period, that approximately 70 percent of grade six students were not meeting statewide standards in writing. The report also showed that roughly the same percentage of students in grade three either met or exceeded state standards in reading.

At the time of the report’s release, Superintendent Greg Potter said scores have been trending upwards in the past three years and he is proud of the progress the district’s instructors have made in literacy education. The number of teachers signed up for funding for the University of Maine literacy program demonstrates a continued interest.

The program focuses its efforts on professional development through group instruction and one-on-one discussions. Participants have access to graduate level courses, coaching and demonstrations.

Board members may revisit the discussion about this program at their next meeting, on Thursday, July 12, at the Palermo Consolidated School.