Taryn Ashby
The School Board of Alachua County (SBAC) held a workshop Wednesday afternoon that covered a range of topics —most notably the Attendance, Behavior, and Core (ABC) scorecard and report.
The ABC Scorecard summarizes trends across the district, while the ABC Report includes more detailed and specific information regarding the academic performance of Alachua County Public Schools (ACPS) students.
The report covers three core questions: are students coming to school, are students safe, and are students learning?
During the presentation, a panel highlighted different ways educators across the district use ABC data and goals to turn insights into impact.
Howard Bishop Middle School Principal Mike Gamble explained that two of the main goals for his school are to increase the average achievement in Black students in all state assessments (FAST ELA, Math, Civics, Science) to 45% for the 2022-2023 school year and to reduce the number of students who receive at least one day of out-of-school suspension to 10% or less of the total student body. He believes the ABC reports help by using the data to see where students may be having issues in the classroom and with discipline.
SBAC member Diyonne McGraw raised concern over students’ behavior.
“I know we are getting these reports, but I think that where we are now, we need to have a middle ground,” McGraw said. “It is great to get the reports, but how do we know as a district that this is actually working? I can tell you that our teachers are overwhelmed, and student behavior is totally out of control.”
In response, panel members explained that the ABCs provide insight into training and strategies for student behaviors based on the data results from the reports.
“Data drives everything we do,” said Idylwild Elementary School Principal Jim Kuhn. “We are constantly looking at where we are now, and where we are now in relation to last year. I want to know if it is working and if it is working, how is it working.”
The December ABC updates showed that the percentage of district attendance was maintained at 91.3% compared to November. The district total for out-of-school suspension days dropped to 658 in December compared to 937 days in November.