LAKEWOOD — The principals of Lakewood’s elementary, middle and high schools touted the progress they’d made during presentations to the board Dec. 2, while also acknowledging the work that still lies ahead.

Lakewood High School Principal Mike Curl summed up the four goals of improving students’ math scores on state and local assessments, improving the graduation rate, integrating Common Core more fully into the curriculum and boosting the numbers of students who pursue post-graduate education.

In math, LHS has partnered its algebra and geometry teachers, placed a priority on promoting student engagement and questioning, and developed common sets of expectations for all ninth-graders, but is still working on how to implement testing for ninth- and 10th-graders.

In graduation rates, the school has already seen students more motivated to perform, which Curl attributed to the advisory program and after-school tutoring. He expects the “College in the High School” program for free and reduced-price lunch students will likewise further that aim, as should student-led conferences in the spring of 2017.

“By reducing suspensions and doing what we can to keep kids in school, we make sure they stay caught up in their classes,” Curl said. “And the student success coordinator will help students who are struggling academically, since it’s often a symptom of other issues.”

Curl noted that LHS had completed almost all of its Common Core objectives and is in the process of integrating the ideas outlined in Mike Schmoker’s “Focus” book about improving student learning. He likewise cited the number of ways in which LHS has promoted post-graduate options, including rescheduling its career and college fair during school hours, but lamented the dearth of colleges or other outside agencies willing to send representatives to visit students.

Lakewood’s three grade schools have set goals of improving their reading and math scores by 5 percent, while Lakewood Middle School has set the additional goals of improving its students’ writing by 5 percent, as well as improving its level of student engagement.

LMS Principal Bryan Toutant and Vice Principal Patti Buchanan added to the chorus of district educators talking about how they perform much of their student interventions within the classrooms.

For reading, LMS challenges students to gather information from multiple sources, demonstrate comprehension, and look for relevant selections of text and supporting evidence.

For writing, the school has sought to build consistent standards of instruction that are used by all teachers, regardless of subject, and for math, LMS has integrated multistep problems into its other lessons. Student progress is measured through twice-a-year assessments.

“We focus on what each grade needs,” said Buchanan, who conceded that, in the traditional middle school model, students and families might not have felt as welcome.

To that end, LMS has sought more parental involvement, not only through surveys of parents, but also more frequent and personalized updates to parents.

Cougar Creek Elementary Principal Todd Mathews agreed with Bill Landry, principal of English Crossing Elementary, that student learning targets need to be data-driven, based on assessments, while Mathews and Susan Cotton, principal of Lakewood Elementary, agreed that student self-assessment is also a vital component.

“We have to recognize the current reality, while also telling ourselves that it doesn’t have to be our future,” said Cotton, who explained how students are tasked with writing out what they can accomplish now, what their first-step goals are for improvement, and what they know they need to be able to do by the end of the school year.

“It encourages student ownership of learning,” Cotton said. “Every kid’s goals are different.”

School district staff acknowledged that the current methods of assessment will probably be discarded by the next state superintendent, which school board president Larry Bean pointed out makes it difficult for them to plan ahead. However, district superintendent Michael Mack reassured them that focusing on the fundamentals of reading and math is the way to ensure students succeed regardless of what tests they’re given.

“They’re not taught to memorize facts, but to reflect on knowledge,” school board member Oscar Escalante said.