Oct Meeting Highlights
The Board of Directors would like to share the following highlights from our October meeting:
Fall MAP Data: Our students are off to a strong start this year! Fall MAP assessments show that more than 75% of students scored within the top three performance ranges for math, and 74% did the same for English Language Arts (ELA). These results help us see how well students retained learning over the summer, and this year’s scores are higher than in previous years — a great sign of continued growth. Mr. Hurst also shared plans to build on this success through focused data analysis and instructional strategies designed to keep progress moving forward throughout the year. For more details, please see the Executive Director’s Report here.
Enrollment Update: Although our total enrollment is slightly lower than we had hoped, it is not out of line with the previous 5-year average and additional students have enrolled since the official October Count was taken. Lincoln has already implemented structural changes to strengthen family satisfaction and retention in the two grades with the highest loss of students. As presented in previous Board meetings, these adjustments include refinements to the 5th and 6th grade program that promote a more cohesive and positive student culture in building C, as well as developmentally appropriate transitions to the upper middle school model. These efforts support the strategic plan goals to continue to improve student culture, specifically within middle school. Early feedback from families has been positive, and these efforts are expected to support greater enrollment stability in future years.
In partnership with our Executive Directors, the Board of Directors will continue to monitor trends and data to assess progress on recent initiatives. Budget projections for the year have been updated and are supported by our longstanding financial stability.
Potential Building Upgrades: The Facilities Committee has identified a potential approach to completing HVAC upgrades in both Building A (main) and Building B (PK-1). The strategy will involve pursuing the Building Excellent Schools Today (BEST) Grant and would occur over the course of the coming years. This is, in part, thanks to an assessment of building conditions and recommendations provided at no cost by an engineering firm. This has enabled the board to gain a better understanding of the scope and magnitude of the work. This is only preliminary information that is subject to change, but is extremely encouraging and next steps of investigation and pursuit will begin immediately with a full, competitive Request for Qualifications (RFQ) process.
If you have any background in engineering, project management, or construction, now is a great time to join the Facilities Committee for these exciting projects! There is also an opportunity to potentially fill the void of our Facilities chair next year as he is completing his term in the spring.
Unified Improvement Plan (UIP): The 2025-2026 UIP was prepared by the administration, reviewed by the School Accountability Committee (SAC), and submitted to the district and CDE in October. This annual goal setting was aligned to the new strategic plan.
Staff (and Student!) Shoutouts: Congratulations to our two student highlights this month, Jack Veronesi and Addison Dickerson, who exemplify service and kindness, and our staff members Leigh-Anne Turano and Amber Wood for their exceptional contributions to Lincoln! For more details, please see the Executive Director’s Report here.