BELLE — Fewer than one in five Belle Elementary students were identified for reading success plans following beginning-of-year assessments, a milestone Principal Bobbi Robertson shared Oct. 27 with the Maries County R-2 Board of Education.

Robertson said it was the first time the building had fallen below 20 percent since using the plans, which identify students for additional reading support.

The school uses its beginning-of-year iReady diagnostic assessments to help determine which students need a plan, Robertson told the board.

Staff celebrated the results with students using donated ice cream.

The announcement came alongside a broader discussion of elementary reading achievement and changes in classroom instruction.

Robertson reported that both third- and fourth-grade reading results improved compared with the previous year. She highlighted a change in fourth grade, where teachers shifted from reading textbooks and iReady books to chapter books.

Teachers built lessons and their own assessments around grade-level standards, using books that students were eager to read.

Robertson described students becoming so interested in the stories that they read ahead and wanted to discuss what happened next.

The approach is continuing this school year, with students reading “Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing.”

The diagnostic results and state assessment results offer different views of student performance. The beginning-of-year diagnostic helps the school identify students needing reading support, while the state assessments were discussed as part of the district’s annual achievement review.

Robertson said the school had much to celebrate and thanked community businesses for helping recognize students’ efforts.