District staff member Carmen presented the district's approach to universal Tier 1 instruction as part of its MTSS (multi-tiered system of supports) and High Reliability Schools work. The presentation described five building blocks for universal instruction: time and opportunity, assessment for learning, priority standards and behavior expectations, instructional practices, and instructional materials and curriculum review.

Carmen said the district uses universal screeners three times a year (fall, winter, spring) to monitor whether students are on track for the Iowa assessment, and PLC cycles structured around four questions to evaluate student learning and plan supports for students who are below or exceeding proficiency. The district's work includes a crosswalk of NASOT (new arts and science of teaching) strategies with AVID and SIOP to support ELL/multilingual learners and college-career readiness.

Carmen described the curriculum-review system as an eight-year cycle with annual audits and a year-two self-study committee that includes board members, teachers, parents and students; the district audits curriculum annually and does not wait eight years to make amendments. Board members asked how community requests to change curricular content would be handled; staff said such requests follow the curriculum-vetting rubric, are reviewed by instructional teams and administrators and can be incorporated in-year when vetted through the established process.

The presentation was informational; directors asked for more detail on Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions at the next meeting.