School board discusses new courses, absences and early literacy

Whitefish High School will be adding three new courses next school year.  

Physics instructor Tate Brockson will teach AP physics.  

“He was trained in the course last summer and found that it’s not that different from the current physics course,” said Whitefish Principal Kerry Drown. “And if [the students] are going to take physics, they might as well get AP designation. It’s a testament to taking it a higher level.”  

A new video game design course will offer students an additional option to fulfill a technology course requirement.  

“There’s a lot of interest in kids learning to code. With video game design, there’s lots of skills like animation and 3-D rendering to learn,” Drown said. 

The third new class will be a fourth level AP Spanish class.  

“We’ve been teaching a Spanish 3-4 combination class for several years and it’s a bit of a divided curriculum,” Drown said.  

In the new AP level four class, students will speak Spanish from the moment they enter the room until the depart, Drown said. “They will immerse as best as they possibly can.” 

The two new AP classes bring the total number of AP classes offered at Whitefish High School to 15.  

“It shows the level of overall rigor,” Drown said.  

Data was presented at the Whitefish School District board meeting Feb. 11 on attendance trends by Cole Davidson, math teacher at Whitefish High School, who has led Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) efforts in collecting and analyzing data.  

“Attendance matters, regardless of its chronic absenteeism, school sponsored events or family trips,” said Hallie Koppang, assistant principal at Whitefish High School. “If you’re not in your seat, you’re not learning.”  

Chronic absenteeism is defined as lower than 90% and doesn’t differentiate between causes of absence.  

In the first quarter of fall 2024, 180 students were chronically absent and 432 were not. The second quarter saw a large jump with about half of the students – 299 – chronically absent. 

Students who were counted as chronically absent for both quarters had 18 times the number of F grades as those who were not counted as chronically absent for either quarter. 

GPAs for chronically absent students in the first quarter averaged 2.78 and 2.97 in the second quarter, while students who attend regularly averaged 3.35 in the first and 3.26 in the second.  

Trends that impact these numbers include several students who were chronically absent and failing unenrolling after the first quarter, while some students with good grades dropped below 90% attendance only in the second quarter.  

The trustees discussed the possibility of analyzing data that distinguishes between the types of absence; in particular, there is a larger number of absences in the second quarter due to school sanctioned activities.  

Attendance issues are a nationwide issue, said Superintendent Dave Means.  

“And what you do in response has to be directly related to your own population,” he said. 

Trustee Katie Clarke suggested that the district aims to educate parents about the results of low attendance, especially with family trips being a common reason for missing school in Whitefish.  

THE BOARD discussed the progress of the first ever early bird literacy program. The program for at-risk 4-year-olds is not mandatory but gives a crucial jumpstart prior to kindergarten.    

The program, which piloted this fall, has completed three domains so far: all about me, families and communities, and animals.  

Thus far, all students have shown growth in at least one area. 

“All students improved their letters, names and sound recognition, and a big growth in rhyming,” said a written report from Jessica Hansen, early literacy program instructor.  

Potential students for next year can be screened in April. The screening takes about 20 minutes. 

The board also discussed an additional summer early literacy model for rising kindergartens up to rising third graders.  

The district will look to have a six-week summer program with about five hours of instruction a day. 

Based on current students who are not on benchmark from winter scores, about 100 students are indicated as needing a summer program.  

Screening will take place in April through June.