The Albion Board of Education met on Monday, February 3, to review the academic progress of the district’s approximately 1,700 students and discuss the future structure of the board itself. The meeting’s primary focus was a comprehensive mid-year review presented by building principals Jennifer Ashbery (High School), Brad Pritchard (Middle School), and Angela Conway (Elementary School). **Middle School Seeing Reading Gains** Mr. Pritchard reported positive news regarding literacy in the middle school. According to the STAR Reading Assessment, student growth percentiles rose from 57.1% in the 2023-2024 school year to 65.6% for the current fall-to-winter period. This means the majority of students are meeting or exceeding typical national growth norms. “From fall of 2023 to winter of 2025, the students in grades 6-8 increased 8% on this growth measure,” Pritchard told the board. The middle school is also continuing its push to improve writing scores. Teachers are specifically targeting grammar and punctuation skills to help students secure full credit on two-point writing questions found in state ELA benchmarks. **High School Writing Initiative** At the high school level, Mrs. Ashbery highlighted a renewed focus on writing fundamentals. Fall pre-assessments revealed a need for intervention: 80% of 9th and 10th-grade responses were scored as not proficient or partially proficient, while 74% of 11th and 12th-grade responses fell into the same categories. To address this, the high school is implementing a district-wide writing initiative. Teachers across all content areas will provide writing prompts at least four days a week. Students will respond by hand—in one or two sentences—and edit their work on the fifth day. “We are strategically targeting elements of Explicit Instruction,” Ashbery said, noting that teachers are focusing on lesson goals and expectations to drive student performance. **Elementary Report Card Feedback** Mrs. Conway provided an update on the elementary school’s transition to standards-based grading and the "Leader in Me" social-emotional learning framework. Regarding the new report cards, the district solicited feedback from parents. Out of 73 responses, 60.3% found the new report card "very clear" to understand, while 26% found it "somewhat clear." Conway noted that staff would review the feedback to continue refining the communication process. **Community Health Resources** During the Public Forum, Ms. Robin Govanlu, Director of Behavioral Health at Oak Orchard Health, announced an expansion of services available to district families. Govanlu stated that the Albion Wellness Center has added four therapist positions, three of which are currently filled. She emphasized that the center handles crisis calls and therapist intakes, and can assist families in finding providers even if they do not receive primary care at Oak Orchard. **Board Governance Decisions** In business matters, the Board discussed recommendations from an Ad Hoc Committee regarding the structure of the Board of Education. Board President Wayne Wadhams asked if any member wished to motion to reduce the number of trustees from nine to seven. No motion was made, so the size remains at nine. The Board did vote on a proposal to reduce the length of member terms from five years to three years. The motion was **disapproved**, meaning the five-year term length remains in effect. **Financial Approvals** The Board approved several financial transfers to support district operations: * **$10,000** was transferred to the Elementary School Field Trips fund. * **$1,500** was allocated for service calls regarding Audio/Visual issues (this was noted as for information only regarding the repair needs, with funds allocated). Superintendent Edwards also provided a brief Health and Safety update, noting that lockdown drills are planned for February and March, and fire inspections are currently underway with BOCES Safety Representative Jim Combs. The next regular meeting is scheduled for March 10, 2025, at 7:00 pm.