Reading
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3rd Grade Reading, 8th Grade Math, 11th Grade College Readiness: A Sampling of Our 2024/25 Student Achievement Outcomes
Our state assessment results for 2024/25 were released to the public last week. Below you’ll find a snapshot of how our students performed in reading, math, and college readiness. I’ve included five years of data for context (as well as outcomes for our economically disadvantaged kids)—and connected these results to the goals in our draft…
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Our Next Five Years: Focus, Equity, and Opportunity for All
We had a great discussion last night on our new 5-year strategic plan. This strong draft builds on our previous 3-year plan (4 of the 5 focus areas carry over from 2022–25) and is well aligned with our mission, vision, and values—including our commitment to inclusive education, equitable access, and success for all. It reflects…
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Making LEAP Work for All Kids: What Should Expanded After-School and Summer Learning Look Like?
If we’re expanding our PK–12 after-school and summer learning and enrichment opportunities—the why behind the proposed East Middle multi-use fieldhouse—what should that actually look like? Our after-school and summer program, LEAP, has a clear vision: “To provide students with increased opportunities for engagement beyond the school day through educational and recreational activities to improve learning,…
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5 New Strategic Plan Goals for TCAPS
Save the date: The next strategic plan meeting will be on August 11th – and another one will be on August 25th. And you can subscribe to have school board meeting agendas and packets emailed to you once they’re published HERE. *Story by Kathryn in the June 16th Record-Eagle Cute photo of Mrs. Helman and some…
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Mississippi’s Reading Miracle: A Lesson for Michigan?
Between 2013 and 2024, reading scores for the lowest-performing students dropped significantly across 40+ states — but one state defied the trend: Mississippi. Despite being the poorest state in the country, Mississippi’s literacy gains—especially among Black and low-income students—are now leading the nation. How? They didn’t just tweak policy. They invested in literacy coaches, screened…
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Behind the Bell: TeachMichigan Fellows Thrive at Blair Elementary
Behind The Bell is a monthly storytelling series that takes readers beyond the classroom and into the heart of Traverse City Area Public Schools’ mission, values, vision and strategic goals. Through inspiring profiles, this series highlights the people, programs, and moments that shape our schools and connect our community. From unsung heroes to innovative initiatives,…
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Escape the Rainforest: Long Lake Elementary Builds Community and Boosts Learning
Behind The Bell is a monthly storytelling series that takes readers beyond the classroom and into the heart of Traverse City Area Public Schools’ mission, values, vision and strategic goals. Through inspiring profiles, this series highlights the people, programs, and moments that shape our schools and connect our community. From unsung heroes to innovative initiatives, Behind The Bell offers an inside look…
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Educational Equity, Traverse City’s Economically Disadvantaged Kids & TCAPS’ 2023/24 Annual Education Report
Our 2023/24 annual education report was made public earlier this month on mischooldata.org. It’s a 133-page beast that includes educator qualifications, student assessment, and accountability data. Here are a few takeaways about educational equity and our economically disadvantaged kids: 3rd Grade Reading Proficiency (Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress – M-STEP) 3rd Grade Math Proficiency…
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50% of Traverse City’s opportunity 3rd graders are not proficient in reading
50% (229)* of our at-risk opportunity 3rd graders (452)** are not proficient in reading. Are we doing everything we can to help our kids who are furthest from opportunity succeed? Solutions We (our community) can do a better job of helping all of our kids succeed by: - Leveraging best practice policies to close the…
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Opportunity: 42% of Traverse City’s 3rd graders are not proficient in reading
42% of our 3rd graders are not proficient in reading*. On a state level, the gap between economically challenged kids and those who are not is around 30 percentage points (I haven’t seen TCAPS data on this but I expect similar challenges here). Student achievement equity is a critical issue Our recent study sessions on…
TY FOR TCAPS 