The Milwaukee Public Schools Committee on Student Achievement in School Innovation heard a regional showcase from the Southwest Region and a school spotlight on Lowell International Elementary School on Feb. 19. Interim Superintendent Eduardo Galvan introduced the regional report; Regional Superintendent Jan Gamblin and Lowell Principal Teresa Christiansen presented details on attendance, behavioral indicators and academic measures.

The Southwest Region report said the region serves 13,166 students in 26 schools and has the highest number of bilingual and English-learner programs in the district. Gamblin told the committee the region had improved attendance over three years, cut suspensions roughly in half and reduced the percentage of students scoring "significantly below" on reading STAR assessments by about 10 percentage points from winter 2023 to fall 2024.

Lowell International Elementary School, which serves 235 students in kindergarten through fifth grade, was presented as the evening's highlight school. Principal Teresa Christiansen told the committee Lowell had increased its state report card status from "fails to meet expectations" to "meeting expectations" in three years and showed year-over-year growth in STAR reading scores. She said the school uses an IB Primary Years Program, a science-of-reading approach in grades Kthrough 3 aligned to the districtand state requirements, and that partnerships and professional development supported both intervention and enrichment for high-potential students. "We are using differentiated formative and summative assessments to guide instruction," Christiansen said.

Committee members praised the school and asked for specifics about practices and the district supports that enabled the gains. Director Gokul Gandhi asked which practices were most transformational; Christiansen emphasized creating a positive climate, deliberate staffing changes, grade-level standardized work and small-group instruction paired with targeted professional development. On the science of reading, she said teachers are in various stages of LETRS training and the administrative team is in process, adding the school is "on a really good track."

The presentation also listed regionwide initiatives: a dual-language Montessori site, two building additions, green-school awards through the Green Schools Consortium and a pedestrian mall playground expansion at Rogers Street Academy. Committee members asked follow-up questions about the new math curriculum and about scaling the region's approaches to other district schools.

The committee conducted no vote on the showcase; the item was informational. The presenters provided data and invited committee questions and school visits.

Lowelland Southwest Region speakers present at the meeting included: Eduardo Galvan (Interim Superintendent), Jan Gamblin (Regional Superintendent, Southwest Region) and Teresa Christiansen (Principal, Lowell International Elementary School).