La Crosse schools focusing on progress, not results with new state system

New program more flexible to bridge achievement gap.

La Crosse School District director of curriculum Michael Lichucki has large amounts of data to pour over every year to determine if the district is filling achievement gaps. 

The district is now operating under a different state program to reduce achievement gaps within the schools. 

Moving on from the defunct state program Student Achievement Guarantee in Education (SAGE), Lichucki says he’s more worried about progress than results.

“It’s really hard to get a handle on where you are achieving when the finish line changes so often for us,” he said. “However, what doesn’t change is growth.”

Replacing SAGE is a much more flexible program called Achievement Gap Reduction (AGR).

Monday night, the school board got a presentation on how staff is trying to bridge achievement gaps within the district through AGR. 

“We can meet the achievement gap reduction by class sizes, by having instructional coaches or one-on-one tutors,” Lichucki said.

SAGE required a student-teacher ratio of 18-1 or 30-2. Lichucki says they can now focus on growth less than proficiency and that every school can decide for themselves the methods they use to close the gaps. 

Scores are determined by local assessments, state tests and other factors and AGR allows for several options, including the hiring of instructional coaches, which Lichucki says is an important tool.

“Instructional coaches work with our teachers to improve our instruction, which has a direct impact on how our students achieve,” he said. “So, having those instructional coaches is vital for us.”