The Verona Area School District presented a new results monitoring format and reported measurable literacy gains across grade bands as the district continues implementation of new curricular resources.

Presenters said the monitoring report replaces simple color indicators with a body of evidence including internal datasets, cohort comparisons and student/staff voice. For K–3, the district reported changes after switching to the state‑required early literacy assessment (aimsweb) and said the number of students on targeted reading plans fell from 434 (winter of the previous year) to about 232 this fall.

At grades 4–5 the district reported a roughly 12 percentage point increase in STAR proficiency and that 63% of students showed typical or high growth; presenters noted notable gains for African American students (reported as moving from 19% to 43% proficiency over the reported period). Middle school metrics showed similar growth (including a 15% gain on one state measure), and high‑school preACT/ACT reading outcomes improved (the ACT reading score rose from 20.0 to 20.7, and preACT ninth‑grade readiness rose to about 49.5% this fall).

District leaders credited professional learning communities (PLCs), schedule changes at middle school that increased core instructional time and added targeted skills blocks, and sustained implementation of district curricular resources in year two for the improvement. Presenters also highlighted staff and student survey data showing increased instructional confidence and a building data culture for continuous improvement.

Board members asked whether gains reflected assessment renorming; presenters acknowledged that some assessments were renormed after COVID and said the district triangulates multiple datasets (unit assessments, formative data, cohort comparisons) to separate assessment artifacts from genuine instructional impact. They also discussed the difference between proficiency levels and standard growth percentiles used to measure student progress.

The board voted to accept the results monitoring report as presented and moved to the next agenda item: determining whether the district is making reasonable progress under the relevant results policy language.