She remembers gathering on the carpet.
Erin Dotson had encouraged her third-graders, then plopped around the book she held in her hands, ahead of their state standardized tests. It was her first classroom. It was a Delaware assessment that would change names and shapes over her next 19 years in the building.
“I would always tell my kids that I have taught you everything that you need to know,” Dotson recalled from her office that is still in Lake Forest North Elementary. “Have confidence in yourself. Just use the skills you’ve been using all year long to show the best on the test — because it doesn’t define who you are as a person.”
Dotson would look up from that rug to see administrators file into her room. They shook her hand, congratulated her on some strong test results as a new educator.
She felt a different boost of pride in 2023. This year, she got to share it.
“It’s that moment when you’re proud of your team, and you’re proud of your kids, and you’re proud of your school,” said the now-principal of Lake Forest North Elementary, from an office buzzing in back-to-school preparation. “As we’re watching everything roll in, the percentages are coming out, it kind of solidifies that our practices and our strategies are working.”
Broad strokes in the early-August release of state test results captured Delaware in a portrait of continued struggle for pandemic recovery. Shifting focus down to some system and school levels, however, can offer optimism.
One such example came among the state’s smallest districts.
Lake Forest schools saw boosts in both math and English language arts over last year. This comes as state proficiency across most subjects strained to consistently boost past 2022 and trailed 2019 figures.
At Dotson’s elementary school alone, 65% of her third-graders scored proficient or higher in ELA, a 15-percentage-point increase from last year. In math, 67% of the same Lake Forest North students scored proficient or higher, up 13 points. Lake Forest High School also saw SAT growth in reading and math as well — with 2023 proficiency higher than pre-pandemic levels in both subjects.
Still parsing through mountainous data from the state, educators in the Kent County system can only begin to reflect on just what stands behind the numbers.
Leaders highlight a “whole-child” mindset, continued investment in academic interventionalists and emotional support, as well as consistency across the district in new high-quality instruction materials and teacher development.
“We have a lot of work left to do, 100%,” said James Dick, chief academic officer, sharing the overall gap most Delaware school systems still see from 2019 scores.
“But the improvement we’re seeing, I feel like it’s because everybody in the Lake Forest district, truly, has the motto of ‘children first.’ It’s this idea that all students can succeed. It doesn’t matter what ZIP code you’re coming from, what neighborhood you’re coming from.”
Another key, educators said, is maintaining “fidelity” across the district.
“We are thankful to every teacher, student, support staff and administrator for their hard work these past few years,” Superintendent Steve Lucas said in a statement. “While we are proud of the growth our students attained last year, we know there is more work to do, and we can’t wait to get started.”
Dotson plans to see it at the classroom level.
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‘The small-town approach’
A path to Dotson’s office weaved through various boxes of supplies, papers and Brisk tea. The Felton building was settling in just days before students’ return. Smiles greeted Dotson as she passed, and her assistant principal, Lisa Fox, already typed away from an adjoining office as she sat down.
“The small-town approach is what makes Lake so interesting,” Dotson said. “Everybody knows everybody. Everybody is everybody’s cheerleader.”
This may contribute to why Lake Forest educators called out their use of a statewide screening process — called MTSS or “multi-tiered systems of support” — to actively monitor students and identify when they need extra help, academic intervention or even connection with emotional support.
North, like other schools in the district and the state, monitors student data with a focus on academics, behavior and attendance. If a student is seen to be struggling, on-hand are student counselors, homeroom teachers, interventionalists specializing in math or reading, and more.
“We meet, and we talk about each kid individually,” Dotson said. “I think that process and structure we have here at North is why we’re able to really support our kids. Another strategy is we use our academic data; our teachers pull reports; they look at where students are struggling.”
And her building isn’t alone.
Chief Academic Officer James Dick noted that his district has focused opportunity funding on these efforts systemwide.
“We’ve used just about every cent of that to hire interventionists to work with these struggling kids that we’re identifying through the screening process,” he said. On top of that, building leaders consistently share best practices. Principals meet roughly monthly, debriefing for hours on what’s working in their buildings.
“It’s nice we are a smaller district,” the CAO added, knowing his 3,600 students are just a fraction of Delaware’s largest districts. “If you walked into our schools, you would see the same processes playing out.”
This theme echoes in investments for new instructional materials in English, math and soon reading. Such packages have paired with consistent professional development for teachers systemwide, educators explained, not just in pockets.
“I think they were aware of where the gaps were maybe with curriculum materials — and again, just that consistency and making it a system approach,” noted Theresa Bennett, director for DDOE’s Office of Assessment, of Lake Forest’s team. “I think is why we’re seeing the improvements that we are.”
Dotson would say she’s proud of her school. And she may even say she wishes there was a stronger word for it.
But for her, test scores aren’t everything.
“It’s just so much more than that,” the principal said, still thinking of her first students, having reminded them they too were more than the multiple-choice bubbles in front of them.
“Working here for so long, the relationships that I’ve made with the staff and with the students and the community here are just so impactful. Educators have a very hard job, but it’s so rewarding.”
Have a story? Kelly Powers covers race, culture and equity for the USA TODAY Network’s Northeast Region and Delaware Online, with a focus on education. Contact her at kepowers@gannett.com or (231) 622-2191, and follow her on Twitter @kpowers01.
