Seventy-four percent of New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) third graders scored at grade level for reading accuracy last year, up from 72 percent the year before — prompting words of praise from the superintendent and the Board of Education about the district heading in the right direction. NHPS leaders celebrated that reading-level improvement at Monday’s Board of Education meeting as one of several positive data points from last school year. The meeting itself was held at King/Robinson School and online. In addition to improving literacy levels, NHPS Supt. Madeline Negrón singled out how 285 students across five schools learned how to ride a bike through a new NHPS bike-training program, 72 staff positions were saved from being cut thanks to the district’s collective advocacy, and student suspensions dropped by 30 percent. The end-of-year review also prompted board members to recognize a need to continue applying pressure on the state to support its efforts for fully funded and staffed schools. Negrón’s report highlighted the progress made in literacy, showing 67 percent of first-grade students scoring proficient or above for Phoneme Segmentation Fluency. She celebrated that Wilbur Cross teacher Brian Grindrod received the Connecticut Council for the Social Studies Award for Excellence in Social Studies Education at the high school level. And she noted that 351 students (19.5 percent) who previously were missing 27 to 50 days of school, deeming them chronically absent, moved out of chronic-absence status during the 2025-26 school year. Meanwhile, the district’s career pathways opportunities in manufacturing, education, business, bioscience, and healthcare are expanding as a result of last year’s offerings of 30 hours of fieldwork. Business students can also now complete three college courses at Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) through dual enrollment. And the average GPA for BioCity students was 4.09, with 399 total college credits earned amongst the cohort. As a result of the district’s college and career partnerships, Negrón announced that the business pathway will be expanded next year beyond only seniors to allow juniors to dual-enroll at SCSU. Students’ course loads will allow them to take two courses per semester. A total of 39 students completed EMT course work and 104 completed CNA coursework through the healthcare pathway. Negrón also said that, during the 2025-26 school year, Hill Regional Career High School piloted an initiative allowing 15 students to complete semester-long internships. As a result of the pilot’s success, Negrón said the district will expand the internship program to Metropolitan Business Academy in the fall for 16 students to participate in. To conclude, Negrón spoke about the dozens of professional development opportunities that were offered to district staff to continue improving student outcomes. She thanked the district’s community partners for offering educators, students, and all staff with learning opportunities and professional development. “It was an extremely busy, long, exhausting academic year. All of it, every single part of it, possible due to the great work that we have in New Haven from our educators, from our staff, our community, our students, our families, with everyone continuing to work together as we strive towards the next chapter of excellence,” Negrón said. “If we continue in the spirit of collaboration, despite the hiccups, despite the challenges, I am confident that all of our students are going to continue to repeat the benefits of our efforts and our collaboration.” Board Prez OrLando Yarborough. Board VP Matt Wilcox and fellow board member Daniel Juarez. In response to Monday’s presentation, board members thanked school district staff for their daily work to improve the district each year. Board of Education member Andrea Downer emphasized the importance of the district’s work being done by “everyone together.” “New Haven thrives when collaboration is real,” she said. “Equity and access are not slogans. They are obligations. This work reflects that.” She continued: “I am proud to see a district in spite of, that keeps students at the center of every decision. This report showed me the disciplined stewardship of public resources [and] responsible — I know we’re going to get better fiscal management.” Board member Abie Benitez agreed, adding that despite the district’s challenges she is impressed the district continues to improve. She noted that the Covid pandemic had a significant impact on the district in several ways and therefore it continues to recover from the fiscal, behavioral, and staffing impacts that were exacerbated during the pandemic. What was gained from the pandemic, she concluded, was an important lesson that the community must work together. “The New Haven way is we always improve,” she said. Board members Matt Wilcox and Daniel Juarez emphasized that the report’s progress numbers are more than just numbers because each percent demonstrates improvements in several dozen students’ lives. Wilcox emphasized that the district is going in the right direction despite it not having the actual staffing and funding needed to support all students. Juarez said that a lot of work is still needed and the district is headed in the right direction. “There are areas that we have to improve in and we’re going to get on that,” Board of Education member Edward Joyner said Monday. “If the parents and the kids are willing to match our commitment then we’ll continue to do well.” View the full presentation below and click here for the recording of Monday’s meeting. BOE End of Year Review 2025-26.pptxDownload The post NHPS Celebrates Literacy Progress, Career Opportunities appeared first on New Haven Independent. ...read more read less