MARYSVILLE – Statistics released this week by the Marysville School District show students overall are improving in their English/Language Arts and math scores, but are still below the state average.

Ray Houser, executive director of assessment and student services, presented the information to the school board Oct. 3.

Houser admitted it is “hard to draw conclusions” because the statistics do not compare the same class, but “different cohorts.”

School Board Member Chris Nation said: “We’ve seen this (type of) data before. What’s the next step? Where do we do from here? In my seven years here we’ve never come back around. We’re always on to the next new thing.”

Superintendent Becky Berg responded, “We can do a better job of that.”

Houser said, “A bright spot was Cascade, with Pinewood up and Sunnyside down. In ELA, Liberty and Shoultes did a commendable job of improving.”

Berg cautioned the board not to take too seriously the low numbers for 11th-graders. They were not required to take the test unless they had failed as sophomores.

“That skews the data. They’re not solid numbers,” she said.

In the statistics, Marysville Co-op consistently stood out with high scores, and Quil Ceda Elementary with low scores. In math, 10th Street scored well, while Totem did not.

In other school district news:

•Totem Middle School Principal Angela Delgado talked about poverty at her school, which increased 7 percent to 49 percent overall for students.

“I have a lot to learn about poverty” and how it affects learning, she said.

Regarding equity and access, she said her school needs to “dive down deeper” because some of these kids don’t even have lights at home.

Despite the poverty, Delgado said, “Big goals are set because the kids deserve it.” She will not lower expectations but expect rigor instead.

Delgado also talked about Positive Behavioral Intervention ——. Using PBIS, teachers have learned coaching and rewarding techniques to “support the students where they need to be.”

•Finance director Mike Sullivan said attendance is down a bit because so many high schoolers are in Running Start, the program that allows them to go to college their junior and senior years. That number jumped to 225, “almost double” compared to last year, he said. However he predicted when the numbers settle out by the end of October, enrollment would be up overall. The total numbers for the district are 10,611, down nine from its projection and down 154 from last year. Schools with the largest declines are: SHOPP with 71, Liberty elementary with 48, and Arts and Technology High School at 41. Marysville-Pilchuck had the biggest growth with 35.

•Human Resources director Jason Thompson said the substitute teacher pool is depleted because many were hired to take full-time spots. Nation said he would like to see the district hire more teachers of color. Thompson said he would like to attract more-diverse candidates, too, but right now there is a teacher shortage. Thompson said he is focused on attracting more student teachers, which is a great process for interviewing potential teachers. He wants to connect with high school students who want to become teachers so they can “come right back to Marysville” once they get their teaching certificates.

•Nation said the district “need to broaden its vision and think of equity in every decision we make.”

•The district will host a Town Hall meeting Oct. 18 to fully fund education.

NORTH STAR INDICATORS

English-Language Arts//Math

1st grade: District overall 49 percent. High local score: Grove, 58 percent. Low score: Marshall, 33 percent.

3rd grade: State average: 55 percent. High: Pinewood, 69 percent.//State: 59 percent. High: Pinewood, 75 percent.

4th grade: State: 57 percent. High: Pinewood, 69 percent//State: 56 percent. High: Marysville Co-op, 80 percent.

5th grade: State: 61 percent. High: Kellogg Marsh 63 percent.//State: 49 percent. High: Co-op, 64 percent.

6th grade: State: 57 percent. High: 10th Street, 43 percent. Low: Totem: 35 percent.//State: 48 percent. High: 10th Street, 53 percent.

7th grade: State: 59 percent. High: Cedarcrest, 54 percent. Low: Totem: 38 percent.//State: 50 percent. High: 10th Street, 59 percent.

8th grade: State: 61 percent. High: Cedarcrest, 55 percent. Low: 10th Street: 40 percent.//State: 49 percent. High: 10th Street, 63 percent.

11th grade: State: 32 percent. High: Mountain View: 47 percent. Low: Marysville-Pilchuck, 19 percent.//State: 35 percent. High: Bio-Med, MG, 48 percent. Low: M-P, 19 percent.

Attendance

Going to school 90 percent of the time has gone up from 68 percent last year to 80 percent this year.

By race: Asians 81 percent; blacks and whites, both about 71 percent; hispanics and Pacific Islanders, both about 68 percent; and Native Americans about 45 percent.

Graduation

Within four years: Statewide: 73 percent. High locally: MG school of communications, 87 percent. Low: Mountain View, 32 percent.

Within five years: Statewide: 77 percent. High: MG Bio-Medicine, 91 percent. Low: Mountain View 46 percent.

Boys: 72 percent

Girls: 82 percent

Limited English: 68 percent

Low income: 67 percent.

By race, five years: State: 77 percent. Locally high: Asian Pacific Islanders, 85 percent. Low: Native Americans, 49 percent.