Semitropic grows 🌱 again!

Semitropic Elementary School is celebrating a record-breaking achievement: its highest English Language Arts (ELA) proficiency rates since state testing began under Common Core.

This success stems from the school’s commitment to continuous improvement using the Data Wise process from Harvard University—a collaborative, step-by-step approach to using student data to drive instructional decisions.

Through the Data Wise process, Semitropic educators identified a clear focus: consistently structure and scaffold opportunities for students to connect evidence or details to main ideas or themes found in text. They selected Thinking Maps as their core instructional strategy, enabling students to visually organize ideas, strengthen text analysis, and build deeper understanding across subjects.

At the same time, the school prioritized tiered reading intervention using the 95% Group curriculum, a structured literacy approach grounded in the science of reading. Teachers and instructional aides worked together to deliver small-group instruction targeted to student needs, ensuring no learner fell through the cracks.

“We focused on doing fewer things better,” said a school leader. “Thinking Maps gave students tools to make their thinking visible, and the 95% Group helped us deliver the right support at the right time.”