Superintendent's Corner

Volume 1, No. 7 January 8, 2025

Dear CBSD Team,

I hope this message finds you refreshed and rejuvenated after the break, with time spent enjoying family, friends, and some well-deserved downtime. I know that I enjoyed the slower pace and spending time with family, friends, and catching up on a few work and house projects that needed to be finished.

I appreciate your patience with this lengthy update—it’s important to keep everyone informed about our shared goals and initiatives. Thank you for taking the time to engage with this "State of the Union" message as we work together to support ALL students in the CBSD.

Eastside Elementary and the Science of Reading

I am thrilled to share that our district, and specifically Eastside Elementary, has been recognized at the state level for their leadership and exemplary work in implementing the Science of Reading. This recognition reflects the incredible dedication of our Eastside team to improving literacy outcomes for students and ensuring all learners are set up for success.

The link below, provided by the Oregon Department of Education (ODE), highlights the outstanding literacy practices happening at Eastside Elementary. When you have a moment, please take a look and join me in congratulating the Eastside staff for their hard work, innovation, and leadership in this critical area.

I also encourage you to reach out to the Eastside team to express your appreciation for their dedication and to celebrate their success. We are excited to continue learning alongside them as we elevate literacy instruction district-wide.

After speaking with the ODE, I shared my confidence that in a few years, all of our schools will be in a position to be highlighted for their instructional efforts and student learning outcomes. This recognition is a reflection of where we are headed as a district—a community of schools committed to learning and growing together for the benefit of our students. Keep up the incredible work, and let’s continue to build on this momentum!

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/l0dn2u7kfjvxuuow9iskq/AJY6EpRLW-cUTo9Cw0l9jN4?dl=0&e=1&preview=Coos+Bay_Final.mov&rlkey=bcclp13043s881txr53iajw4d&st=m7qf5f5q

Differentiated Instruction

In CBSD, we fully support differentiated instruction, but it’s important to clarify . . . it is the teaching methods not the expectations for students—that should be differentiated. For example, a third-grade team should collaboratively establish the essential standards for all third graders and define what proficiency looks like for every student. This becomes the shared expectation for ALL students.

Grouping students to help them achieve these standards can be effective, but we must be vigilant. Too often, what is labeled as differentiation is actually tracking. Students placed in “low groups” are frequently given modified curricula, which are essentially remedial programs with watered-down expectations.

If our mission is for ALL CBSD students to learn at high levels, we must teach ALL students at high levels and provide them access to grade level curriculum and standards.

PLCs

As we return to our important work, I’m excited to reflect on our commitment to reestablishing our Professional Learning Community (PLC) culture.

Our shared vision for PLCs is built on four core principles:

1. A culture that embraces collaboration

2. A culture that embraces learning

3. A culture that embraces ownership for results

4. A culture that celebrates successes

To guide our PLC work, we focus on four critical questions:

1. What do we want ALL students to know?
• This focuses on curriculum and standards to ensure clarity on our learning targets.
2. How will we know if they learn it?
• Using formative and summative assessments, we gather actionable evidence of student learning.
3. How will we respond when they haven’t learned it?
• Real-time interventions ensure no student falls behind.
4. How will we respond when they have learned it?
• Enrichments and extensions deepen learning for those who are ready to go further.

PLC Question 3: How will we respond when students haven't learned it?

Strong PLC teams embrace systemic and responsive approaches to meet student needs. They use student data to inform instructional and schoolwide decisions, moving beyond traditional practices:

• From individual teachers’ determination of the appropriate response . . . to a systemic response that ensures support for every student.
• From fixed time and support for learning . . . to flexibility in time and place.
• From remediation . . . to real-time intervention embedded during the school day.
• From invitational support occurring outside the school day . . . to directed, required interventions within the school day.
• From one opportunity to demonstrate learning . . . to multiple opportunities to ensure mastery.

Sprint Goals

Thank you again for your dedication to our December Sprint Goals. During our recent administrative meeting with district office leaders, principals, and assistant principals, we reflected on our sprint goals, discussing both the "glows and grows." After a thoughtful and productive conversation, our school leaders have decided to continue with the same sprint goals for January, with some minor adjustments for MHS Jr. High:

• Elementary schools and Little Pirates will remain focused on improving attendance and meeting weekly SuccessMaker (math) minutes (60 minutes per week).

• Marshfield High School and Destinations will continue its work on reducing the F rate and increasing student attendance.

• MHS Jr. High will adopt an additional goal this month: meeting weekly SuccessMaker (math) minutes while also working on reducing the F rate and improving attendance.

Sprint Goal Glows

Our teams made incredible strides in December toward meeting our sprint goals! Here are some of the key successes we achieved together:

• Eastside and Madison both increased the average number of personalized math minutes students received in SuccessMaker—this is an outstanding accomplishment!
• MHS Jr. High achieved an overall F rate far below the 10% threshold for both 7th (5%) and 8th (7%) grades—truly amazing!
• Marshfield High School successfully reduced the overall F rate across all four grade levels, a tremendous step forward for student achievement and readiness.
• Destinations significantly increased the attendance rate percentage for their 12th graders, showcasing remarkable progress in student engagement.

• Sunset saw notable and impressive improvements in attendance rates across all grades—another impressive milestone!

• Millicoma continues to lead the district in providing students with personalized math instruction through SuccessMaker—outstanding work!

These achievements reflect the hard work, dedication, and collaboration across our schools. Let’s celebrate these successes and continue building momentum as we move into the new year.

Data Dashboard

Oregon Data Suite Roll Out Plan .docx

We are also excited to announce the rollout of our new Data Dashboard! We have partnered with the Willamette ESD to use their Oregon Data Suite, a powerful tool to help improve student outcomes. The attached document outlines the Data Dashboard rollout plan. This will be a phased rollout, starting with district office staff, school principals, and assistant principals. Next, the dashboard will be introduced to deans, school counselors and staff PLC leaders.

If you’re interested in learning more about the Data Dashboard, feel free to reach out to your principal, Chad Putman (Director of Secondary Education), or visit the Willamette ESD Oregon Data Suite website at https://www.oregondatasuite.com/.

FY26 Calendar

As we begin the process of developing the FY26 school calendar with a group of stakeholders there are several guiding principles to keep in mind. First and foremost, this will be a student-driven calendar. We remain committed to addressing the ongoing COVID learning gaps and recognize the importance of maximizing instructional days and time. Our goal is to design a calendar that meets the needs of students, families, and staff; however, when decisions must be made, we will prioritize students and families.

It’s also important to acknowledge that it’s unrealistic to create a calendar that will be “all things to all people.” While we value input from all stakeholders, the focus will be on student learning and ensuring sufficient instructional time to support their growth and success. Thank you in advance for your understanding as we balance these priorities to best serve our students, families, and staff.

In Closing

Let’s continue building on our strengths and refining our practices to ensure success for ALL CBSD students. As you dive back into your classrooms and PLC teams, I encourage you to share stories of success and collaboration, so we can celebrate our progress together.

Thank you for your dedication to our students and for being part of a school community that ensures we know ALL students by name, strengths, and needs and ALL students graduate with a plan: Enrolled, Employed, or Enlisted (3Es).

One Compass—One Goal—One Mission,

Dr. Ainsworth
Superintendent
Coos Bay School District