District officials have pointed to the fast turnover of principals and teachers as one of the factors that may have hindered students’ academic progress. Two years ago, 10 teachers resigned from the school. Last year, an additional five teachers left. I Promise School has also had 5 principals, including 3 interim principals, since the school opened.

Keith Liechty-Clifford, the district’s director of school improvement, added that the pandemic hit as the school was only a year and a half old. During the time, it onboarded 10 new teachers and 120 additional students while learning was done remotely.

“I don’t want to use the pandemic as a crutch,” he said.

I Promise School recently hired a new principal, Stephanie Davis, to lead the school for the upcoming school year. She expressed optimism when it comes to the students’ future at the school.

“One of the things I’m most excited about coming into the I Promise School is the optimism and energy around getting our students to a level of achievement we know they’re capable of,” Davis said in a statement. “At the recent Board meeting, our preliminary OST data was shared, but it’s important to note that proficiency is based on mastering grade-level standards. Our students have not yet met the grade-level mastery mark but they are demonstrating growth based on iReady scores. Of our incoming 8th graders, 32% met their annual typical growth in reading while 11% met their stretch goal for the year. Despite not mastering the grade-level standards, 42% of students demonstrated growth in iReady math across their 7th grade school year.”

“When working with students who are achieving below grade level, growth is as important as a measure of progress as proficiency,” she added. “And the type of growth that is important to us is not made overnight. It takes time.”

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