CUSD board metrics: Improvements noted, some goals elusive

By Jason W. Brooks
Mail | X: @JasonWBrooks2

Some of the attendees at the Chandler Unified School District Governing Board’s June 11 meeting might have had trouble understanding what Dr. Jennifer Fletcher was saying.

That wasn’t because of the terminology Fletcher chose or because of her Upper Midwest accent. It was because parts of the normally reliable audio technology in the CUSD board room decided to take the night off.

The audio for the YouTube video of Fletcher’s presentation wasn’t captured, either. Despite those technical difficulties, Fletcher, the district's director of assessment, accountability and research, presented an array of information about all nine board metrics, the 27 indicators and how well the district did on four separate goals.

“It’s not always an autopsy report,” Fletcher said regarding one analysis of an annual cycle.
Fletcher went through slides for all 12 board metrics, including one called “Equity in Student Perception, Achievement and Access,” which breaks down achievement test scores and other measures of progress or proficiency.

She pointed out that while white CUSD students exceeded expectations throughout that metric’s rubric, there are still notable areas in which African-American, Indigenous, English-language learner and “economically disadvantaged” subgroups have still struggled to meet expectations within the two school years addressed.

One conclusion of the overall metric measurement was that performance pay for staff meeting 2024-25 Journey to Excellence board metrics will be awarded. A staff report states the district met 91.27% of its goals for 2024-25, which warrants a one-time payment of $600 to full-time staff and $300 to part-time staff.

The first three metrics listed on a report are equity in student perception, achievement and access; grade level proficiency and third-graders reading at grade level.

Fletcher’s presentation can be read at either this link or this link.

We invite our readers to submit their civil comments on this topic. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org.   Email Jason W. Brooks at jbrooks@iniusa.org.

Jason W. Brooks
News Editor | Chandler Independent

Jason W. Brooks joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in July 2021 as an associate editor. After a year covering Buckeye, he has covered Chandler since the fall of 2022, in addition to assisting the Daily Independent throughout his time at INI.

Education: University of New Mexico, bachelor of arts in journalism and mass communication, print emphasis, English minor.

Random Fact: He and his siblings witnessed a Space Shuttle launch and landing in the same year in person, on opposite coasts.

Hobbies: Karaoke, bicycling and American Sign Language.

Community: He supports animal shelters.