Washoe County students in third through eighth grade have significantly increased overall scores in the Smarter Balanced Assessment test, specifically in Math and English Language Arts.
This is the largest one-year increase in test scores the school district has seen within the last 10 years.
And it's not just math and English, Superintendent Joe Ernst says students who are English Learners have also shown major improvements.
"We saw some of the highest growth in that area because of course language learning is critical to the success that students have," he said.
Schools have been focusing on improving four different things.
The first one is creating a better climate and culture for all school district employees.
"We do a lot of activities that build a lot of comraderies," said Lucy Dugan, Principal of Traner Middle School. "We work really well together. We have very similar goals, and we play a lot."
The second focus is chronic absenteeism. Ernst says 71% of schools have reported a decrease in consistently absent students after looking for different ways to keep kids engaged.
"We expanded to over 400 different clubs and activities," Ernst said.
Dugan adds, "One that is going crazy right now is girls flag football, so they started that club yesterday afternoon and the girls are really excited."
One 8th grade math teacher, Madison Freitas, incorporates real-life experiences with math projects.
"We did a mini market last year where the kids got to make something and then sell it, for fake money obviously, but that was really fun too. They don't like taxes," she laughs.
The third focus is quality of instruction, particularly in elementary schools. Ernst says schools have worked on incorporating the science of reading to improve skills needed in English language arts.
And the fourth focus is adding more family engagement. More volunteer opportunities have been offered to parents, the "School of Choice" program allowed more than 90% of families to get their top preferred school, and they also expanded their parent-teacher home visits.
Ernst says, "Reaching out to them, talking with them, listening to them, hearing about their child's hopes and dreams, that helps us build on that connection."
While there's always work to be done, Superintendent Ernst says they'll continue to focus on improving these four categories to continue to boost test scores in all subjects and build confidence for all staff and students.
