Academic Follow-up

Dear Collingswood and Oaklyn Families,

Thank you in advance for reviewing the important information shared in this family newsletter. We hope it provides greater insight into the many ways we support student growth and achievement.

During the October Board of Education meetings, Special Assistant of School Improvement, Performance and Accountability, Dana Walker, Ed.D. presented the 2024-25 District Test Reports (Colls, Oaklyn).

These data presentations highlight the many areas where students have continued to show strong academic growth and progress, thanks to the tireless efforts of their teachers and school staff. The data presentations also identified focus areas in need of improvement across both districts. In particular, academic disparities continue to exist between various student groups. The District acknowledges structural and systemic barriers that extend beyond Collingswood and Oaklyn and is actively taking steps to address these outcomes to ensure we are making the progress that all our students deserve.

For the 2025-2026 school year, our school districts will continue to prioritize academic growth and achievement by:

• Providing High-Quality, Engaging, and Differentiated Instruction

• Adjusting and Updating Multi-Tiered Systems of Support

• Supporting the Expansion of Professional Learning Communities

• Increasing the Effectiveness & Quality of Professional Development

• Addressing Mandated Curriculum Shifts

• Reinforcing Supports: Academics, School Culture, & Mental Health

• Building Capacity for Inclusive Classrooms

We are accomplishing this by identifying Key Performance Indicators aligned to each school's historical performance data, then establishing new goals and metrics for the current school year.

KPIs are quantifiable measures of performance over time for a specific objective. KPIs provide targets for school teams with milestones to gauge progress, and insights that help staff across the school make better decisions. All Principals have reviewed and analyzed their data, and set school-specific targets for improvement for the 2025-26 school year.

Our Key Performance Indicators include:

• ADA (Average Daily Attendance)

• Chronic Absenteeism

• Tardiness/Lateness

• Suspension (if applicable)

• DIBELs (Grades K-5)

• NJSLA ELA Performance (Grades 3-5)

• NJSLA Math Performance (Grades 3-5)

• NJSLA ELA Performance (Grades 6-8)

• NJSLA Math Performance (Grades 6-8)

• NJSLA ELA Performance (Grade 9)

• NJSLA Math Performance (Algebra I)

• 4-Year High School Graduation Rate

All schools are expected to work collaboratively with their faculty and staff to update and revise their site-based School Acceleration Plan (SAP). Plans focus on rigorous academics and a positive school culture. They are used as the foundation for our Continuous Improvement Guide process and help to inform site-based support(s). Each plan is aligned to the elementary or secondary marking periods. School Acceleration Plans include, but are not limited to the following components:

• School Vision for Rigorous Learning

• Solicit Input for School Community Needs

• Present the Data Informing Your Planning

• Revise and Update Your School Improvement Strategy

• Identify the Resources and/or Supports Needed

• Plan to Communicate Your Strategy

The site-based School Acceleration Plans (SAP) allow all schools to identify goals and strategies to monitor implementation and progress. Simultaneously, the inquiry cycle provides the language for describing the steps involved in continuous improvement: analyzing evidence (data), determining a focus (planning), implementing, and evaluating progress based on impact.

Accelerating student growth and achievement demands that we leverage the expertise of our classroom educators to make decisions each day about what content, ideas, and skills we want our students to know, understand, and be able to do. Our teachers make informed decisions about how much time to spend on specific topics and how frequently to engage learners in those topics. We assess students’ progress through high-quality assessments and decide when to intervene, on what, and at what level of intensity with each activity. To support this process, all schools' daily schedules provide additional unassigned professional time for teacher collaboration and instructional planning.

The NJ Department of Education recommends that the following four principles guide learning acceleration planning and implementation:

1. Provide conditions of learning that will foster the social and emotional well-being of students, families, and educators.

2. Improve equitable access to grade-level content and high-quality resources for each student.

3. Prioritize content and learning by focusing on the depth of instruction, rather than the pace.

4. Implement a K-12 accelerated learning cycle to identify gaps and scaffold as needed.

Ensuring that we accelerate learning for all students requires that we move beyond general principles and broad recommendations. Instead, we are focusing on specific aspects of interventions, approaches, and strategies that have the greatest potential to accelerate student learning. Our classroom teachers, academic support teachers, and MTSS/Instructional Coaches work collaboratively to support student achievement through the Multi-Tiered Systems of Support framework (MTSS).

MTSS ensures that all students’ needs are met through increasingly targeted interventions across (3) levels of support/tiers. The tiers allow for core instruction, targeted small-group instruction, and intensive intervention; if necessary. Moving through the tiers is a fluid process where all students are provided the support they may need with the ultimate goal of phasing them back into Tier 1 core instruction. Across all grade levels at the start of the new year, classroom teachers and support teachers and staff assessed student strengths and growth areas, and reviewed beginning of the year academic testing data, to determine additional students in need of formalized MTSS support. Families will continue to receive personal communication if their child is recommended for MTSS interventions. Students in need of academic or behavioral intervention support are reviewed and considered on an ongoing basis throughout the course of the year.

MAP Growth (Measures of Academic Progress) was implemented for Math assessments in Grades 6-12 in the 2024-2025 school year. This year we have expanded that to Grades K-12 across both districts. The assessment is structured to measure growth over time, allowing teachers to monitor yearly progress. This important data will help teachers determine the learning areas their students should focus on.

The Into Math (K-8) curriculum will continue for the 2025-26 school year. In addition to the Into Math K-8 curriculum, elementary schools will integrate evidence-based digital learning platforms such as Reflex Math (automaticity) and Frax Math (fractions) to supplement targeted intervention and small-group instruction.

There will be a stronger emphasis on curriculum fidelity at the high school level using Into AGA. (Algebra I, Geometry, & Algebra II) Additional instructional coaching sessions will also be provided to middle and high school teachers. The Into Math curriculum seeks to support students as they build productive perseverance in problem-solving and application of knowledge to high-level math and beyond.

In addition, an Integrated Math Course (Algebra I/ Geometry) has been developed to provide a two-year timespan for students needing additional support to master key concepts. And a Grade 9 Supplemental Math Course has also been developed to provide targeted instruction to high school students needing additional math support.

For overall planning and information, please review the Collingswood and Oaklyn District Calendars. As we enter the winter months, information regarding inclement weather/delayed opening start times, has been included in the table at the bottom of the academic calendar.

Additionally, please review the Supplemental Calendar that outlines other key information for families regarding trimesters and marking periods, elementary conferences and the 2025-2026 District Testing Calendar.