School Improvement Plans and Student Achievement Data

“Longview Public Schools: Where literacy is the most important thing we do!”

2021-2026

Approved by the Board of Directors on August 22, 2022, Revised August 4, 2023

Appendix Updated 8/2/23

The mission of Longview Public Schools is to ensure that every student learns the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors to become a responsible citizen in a rapidly changing world. 

Ready to Learn, Ready for Life.  Together We Aspire and Achieve.

The district of choice for families, educators and support staff!

Longview Public Schools is focused on student learning and providing equitable opportunities for student success.  The district will continue to create a system of practices dedicated to improving student achievement levels, for all students Pre-K through 12^th grade, while valuing the unique backgrounds and perspectives of each of the students we serve. We believe that all students can learn and that it is our responsibility to teach all of our students to become critical thinkers and discerning consumers of information while being challenged to reach their academic potential.  This is accomplished by focusing on results:

• through a partnership of students, staff, parents, and community;

• in a supportive, caring, innovative environment;

• with a commitment to challenge each learner to reach their potential

District Measurable Goals (See Appendix A For Baseline Data)

1. As measured by the state summative assessment:
   1. By 2026 district student English/Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics achievement levels will exceed state average achievement levels in all grades.
2. Using the I-Ready Reading and Mathematics growth projection data from the Spring of 2022 as a baseline, the percentage of 2^nd-8^th grade students meeting their growth targets will increase 20% by the Spring of 2026.
3. In grades K-2, as measured by the Acadience reading skills assessment, the percentage of students reading at core levels will increase 20% from 2022 levels by the spring of 2026.
4. Four year graduation rates will reach 95% by the end of the 2026.
5. Five year graduation rates will reach 96% by the end of the 2026.
6. High school, end of year course failure rates will decrease each year and not exceed 5% by the end of the 2026 school year.
7. The district’s average student attendance rate will increase to 94% by the end of the 2026 school year.
8. High School enrollment in dual credit courses (CTE Dual Credit, AP and College in the HS) will increase 10% from 2022 to 2026.

District Measurable Goals (See Appendix A for baseline data)

As measured by the district’s “Seeds of Hope” Climate and Culture survey:

1. The percentage of staff agreeing or strongly agreeing with each of the 5 “Seeds of Hope” indicators will increase 4% from 2022 to 2026.
2. The percentage of parents agreeing or strongly agreeing with each of the 5 “Seeds of Hope” indicators will increase 10% from 2022 to 2026.
3. The percentage of students agreeing or strongly agreeing with each of the 5 “Seeds of Hope” indicators will increase 10% from 2022 to 2026.

We are committed to providing a rigorous and relevant education for each of the students we serve.  Because of our belief in the foundational importance of creating students who are effective readers and writers, we will focus on improving the literacy (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension) skills of our students and recognize that teaching literacy is the responsibility of all teachers, regardless of grade level or content area.  This comes with the recognition that mathematical understanding must also be focused upon as students progress through our school system. 

We will strive to provide diverse and challenging curricular and co-curricular academic, career focused, and fine arts options to students so they are able to explore and discover their gifts and their academic, personal and vocational interests and aptitude.  We will constantly review the curricular and co-curricular options available to students to ascertain areas in which we may need to provide additional opportunity.  Consideration will be given to creating opportunities that help students become adept and discerning digital citizens and critical thinkers.  We will assure that students in poverty, from underrepresented populations or with disabilities are not denied these opportunities due to their lack of resources, access, life circumstance, or mastery of the English language.

Longview Public Schools is committed to providing supplemental, evidence based, and focused educational services to students who are struggling to meet expected achievement and behavior standards. These services will be primarily focused on literacy, mathematical understanding, and supports for achieving high school graduation.  Through a Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) model, which provides a framework for assuring the academic and behavioral intervention needs of students are addressed, each school will have an active Student Support Team (SST).  These teams will be charged with supporting the academic and behavioral progress of students by providing targeted academic and behavior intervention services when skill deficits are identified.  Intervention services will primarily be delivered during the regular school day.  Extended learning programming for students in need of additional services will also be provided through after school and summer school educational opportunities.  Opportunities to enlist the support of community organizations in these efforts will be sought.

These extended learning opportunities will be of particular importance during the 2021-22 and 2022-23 school years as we address our students’ learning gaps resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and consequent lost learning opportunities.  Longview Public Schools is committed to providing and supporting early intervention supports to children from birth until they reach school age. 

To help meet our goal of increasing graduation rates, credit retrieval options will be provided to students who need additional opportunities to earn course credit.  Alternative credit bearing opportunities including virtual, competency based and work related options, will also be made available to students within guidelines established by the state.  Additionally, an alternative high school program that supports student success will be available for students who are struggling to succeed in a traditional high school setting. We also recognize our responsibility to intervene to meet the needs of our students who are already achieving at high levels so that they are able to continually grow academically and socially.   

We are committed to creating effective relationships with our students.  The creation of these relationships gives us the opportunity to ensure that all of our students achieve at high levels, graduate from high school, and have access to the workforce or continuing education.  Longview Public Schools recognizes creating positive, appropriate relationships with each of our students is essential for their academic success and helps them to live healthy, social and emotional lives.  Efforts will be undertaken to track our students’ success after graduation. Information gathered will be used to refine and improve the work we do to prepare our students for life after high school.

We will strive to create a welcoming, caring, positive, challenging, rigorous, and safe environment for our students.  Diverse elective courses, and extra-curricular and co-curricular activities play an important role in creating these connecting opportunities for students.  Transitions between grade bands will receive special attention to assure our students’ success.  Of particular importance is the transition from preschool to elementary school; elementary school to middle school; and from middle to high school. The support of purposeful programs (ie. AVID) will be essential to encourage students who might be the first in their family to enroll in post-secondary educational institutions.

We recognize the essential role family involvement plays in the success of our students, and we will strive to create meaningful relationships with the families of each of our students so that we are better able to meet our students’ needs.

We recognize that many of our students are challenged with social, emotional, behavioral, and physical health needs and recognize that it is our responsibility to work with students, their families, and community organizations to help them overcome these challenges.  This work will include a social/emotional focus for all our students to help them self-regulate their responses to the emotions they feel.

The creation of school and district wide systems of social, emotional, and behavioral support are essential if we are to more effectively meet the academic needs of our students.  Through a Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) model and process each school will have an active Student Support Team (SST) charged with supporting, the social and emotional needs of students by providing appropriate intervention supports when needs are identified.  The social/emotional supports provided to students will include trauma informed practices for our students who have experienced significant trauma in their lives.

In Longview Public Schools, we recognize the financial resources we have available are due to the hard work and support of our local and state taxpayers.  Because of this recognition, we will strive to manage our resources prudently, and will focus our financial priorities on our students, their needs, and the district’s established goals.   We will manage our financial resources transparently and seek to provide the community with regular, easily understood information regarding the district’s finances.  When the state funding formulas are inadequate to provide the funding necessary for the successful operation of the school district, the district will clearly and transparently advocate for the passage of operation levies to augment the state’s revenue allocation model.

We recognize that our facilities play an important role in the creation of a positive climate and culture for learning.  We believe that this is an important consideration when seeking to improve upon the education we provide our students and the perceptions our community holds regarding its schools.  The Longview School District operates many schools that have been in the community for decades.  To protect our community’s investment in our facilities, it is of paramount importance that we maximize the life and functionality of existing facilities while we plan for the future needs of our educational system and its students. It is even more important that our schools are safe and functional facilities designed to maximize teaching and learning so that our students can achieve at high levels.  We will create and maintain inviting facilities that reflect well upon our community and its students.  When it is deemed necessary to meet the district’s long range facility needs, we clearly and transparently advocate for the passage of building levies and bonds to secure the needed funding to maintain existing facilities and to build needed new facilities.  

Longview Public Schools is focused on student learning and strives to create a system whose foundation is built on improving student achievement levels. We believe that all students can learn, and that it is our responsibility to assure that all of our students learn, earn a high school diploma, and enter adulthood prepared for life beyond their time in the Longview Public Schools.  Because of our belief in the foundational importance of creating students who are effective readers and writers, we will focus on improving the literacy (reading and writing) skills of our students and recognize that teaching literacy is the responsibility of all teachers, regardless of grade level or content area.  This comes with the recognition that we must also focus upon our students’ mathematical thinking skills and rigorous instruction in all other core subject areas as they progress through our school system. 

We will provide opportunities for students to explore their interests, passions, and career aspirations and will give guidance and instruction regarding the “life skills” necessary for future success.  We will also provide our students with experiences that prepare them for a changing world and help them critically assess the accuracy of information that is so easily accessed through technological means. We will encourage students to become active participants in local, state and national government and provide instructional opportunities that prepare them for this engagement.  

To this end, we will strive to provide diverse curricular and co-curricular options for our students to explore throughout their experience with Longview Public Schools.  We are also committed to providing a safe and supportive learning environment for our students so that they are able to explore their strengths, address their weaknesses, and take academic risks that will allow them to challenge themselves to reach their potential.

We recognize that some students may face inequities that are associated with aspects of their identities and their contexts, including race, ethnicity, culture, disability and learning differences, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, and when they are acquiring English, or are experiencing homelessness, in foster care or poverty. We are committed to addressing these inequities and helping each and every student to equitably access learning opportunities in our district to enable them all to thrive. Longview Public Schools is committed to equity and will continue its work in this area through the use of the newly established Equity Council, and by continually reviewing policies and procedures to ensure emphasis on equitable treatment of all students.

Longview Public Schools will effectively, consistently, and positively reach out to the families of our students so that we are able to work together to meet the needs of the students we share.  We will communicate our purpose, share our vision for the future, celebrate our successes, and create processes to proactively gather input from and exchange information with our families regarding their expectations for our schools and our district.  We will strive to create an environment in which families are informed, welcomed, supported, and encouraged as we partner to meet the needs of each of our students.  We recognize that some members of our students’ families may not be fluent in English and that we have a responsibility to communicate effectively with them.  We will also work to involve parents in social emotional training to bridge school and at home learning.

Longview Public Schools is committed to recruiting, retaining, celebrating, and developing effective, well-trained, passionate, and student centered staff members who reflect the diversity of the students and families they serve.  We are striving to make Longview Public Schools the district of choice for Southwest Washington educators and support personnel.  We will do this by creating and maintaining an environment that is marked by exemplary student performance in a positive, supportive, equitable, and caring culture. 

We will provide professional development opportunities that meet the expressed needs of our staff members and the goals of the district.  New staff members will be given additional support as they transition into our district.  Professional development opportunities will be aligned to the instructional framework found in the teacher evaluations tool and will also be focused on literacy, effective instructional design, the establishment of clear and essential learning targets, effective implementation of weekly professional learning communities (PLCs), addressing students’ social/emotional needs, dropout prevention, and other areas as needs are identified.  Regular PLC opportunities will be provided to assure teachers focused opportunities to collaborate as they seek to improve student learning.   

We are committed to compensating our employees fairly and competitively to attract and retain outstanding staff members who are focused on serving our students.  Our employees are our greatest resource, and we recognize that they constitute the majority of our resource allocation.

Longview Public Schools embraces the belief that our schools should reflect the desires and dreams of our community.  We will strive to create partnerships with its people, organizations, and governing bodies so that our policies, programs and direction reflect the needs of the community we serve. We will work to communicate effectively, to share our purpose, vision, successes and challenges and to create processes for community input that inform our vision and future direction.  Diverse mediums for communication will be used to assure a consistent and positive presence in our community.

Broadway Learning Center

Columbia Heights
Columbia Valley Gardens
Kessler
Mint Valley
Northlake
Olympic
Robert Gray
St. Helens

Cascade
Monticello
Mt. Solo

Discovery
Mark Morris
R.A. Long