EVANSTON — The Uinta County School District No. 1 Board of Trustees met for a special meeting and work session on Tuesday, Sept. 5, and heard from district administrators on a wide range of topics. The results of spring 2017 student assessments were a primary focus of the evening.

The average ACT scores of 11th graders at Evanston High School were below benchmarks in math, reading, and science. Less than one-quarter of EHS juniors scored above benchmark scores of 22 in math and reading, while science scores were only slightly better with about one-third scoring above the benchmark score of 23. 

“Our staff is kind of devastated, to be honest with you,” said EHS principal Merle Lester. He said that the high school had done more ACT preparation last spring than ever before and had not gotten the desired results. High school staff has asked for recommendations from students and from ACT on how to improve test preparation and scores. 

Suggestions have included ACT prep classes, a focus on the rigor of curriculum, and teachers asking more ACT style questions and discussing the rationale of answers. Lester said they are also focusing on having students take the ACT more often. Assistant superintendent Doug Rigby said there is an average two-point improvement each time a student takes the test, so having students first take the test as sophomores would hopefully boost scores when the test is taken again the following year. 

Lester said staff is aware of the problem and working to remedy it.

“I don’t know how I can polish this turd,” said Lester, “but we know the absolute direction to take going forward.” 

Results of district PAWS scores were also discussed. Evanston students in grades three through eight topped statewide percentages in most grades and subjects, with anywhere from 44 to 66 percent of students scoring in the proficient or advanced range.

However, assistant superintendent Joe Ingalls said, “Our goal is not to be above average, but to be in the top quartile.” 

The final district assessments discussed were the state accountability scores. For the 2016-17 school year five of seven schools were meeting expectations, with Evanston Middle School and EHS only partially meeting expectations. This is an improvement over 2015-16 when three schools were only partially meeting expectations. 

The state accountability scores are based on three factors, including achievement, growth, and equity. Trustee David Bennett asked what equity means, and superintendent Ryan Thomas explained that equity is tracking the lowest-performing quarter of kids — who often have struggles with poverty — to determine if they are moving up. The results are compared with the same cohort of students from schools throughout the state. 

Thomas said that for a school to be meeting accountability expectations they have to reach goals in all three areas.

“It’s a great way to look at it,” he said. “If a kid isn’t meeting achievement expectations but has consistent growth, it accounts for that.”

According to the district strategic plan, the stated goal is to be meeting or exceeding expectations in all areas by 2018. 

In addition to district-wide assessments, a primary topic for the evening was a new focus on professional learning communities (PLCs) to improve student learning. The goal of PLCs is to get educators collaborating and working together. The principals of all Evanston schools took turns at the podium to provide back-to-school reports, and nearly all of them spoke of staff excitement about the use of PLCs. 

Uinta Meadows Elementary principal Jerrod Dastrup said, “We’re not smarter by ourselves than we are collectively.” Dastrup said that collaboration allows for educators to ask questions regarding student learning goals and use data to determine the best ways to reach those goals. 

Evanston Middle School principal Eric Christenot said teachers were willing to “put their minds together to collaborate.” Davis Middle School principal Chris Brown said he was excited that this collaboration includes educators from both middle schools working together, and both middle schools will be including student mentoring and enrichment time in their schedules. 

Brown also said that collaboration helps to meet another stated goal of the district, that of a “viable and guaranteed curriculum you can count on.” Thomas said that teachers are required to work in collaborative teams and that a viable and guaranteed curriculum means students should be learning the same material regardless of who is teaching the class. 

Thomas said that the emphasis on and movement toward PLCs is not being dictated by administration, but rather is coming from the teachers and principals themselves.

“We’ve flipped how changes have been made; no more top down with Joe and Doug dictating,” Thomas said, “but more of teachers and principals making requests.”