November 1, 2026
The Education Corner: November Edition
TCUSD Family,
Last month, our Education Corner focused on meaningful feedback and one important question: What do our students need from us next? This month, I want to build on that conversation by focusing on three things that help us answer that question: proficiency, growth, and evidence. As we review our first benchmark results alongside what we see in classrooms, we have an opportunity to turn information into action. Behind every score is a student with strengths, needs, and potential. Our responsibility is to understand what that information tells us and use it to move learning forward.
Proficiency tells us where a student is in relation to a learning standard. Can they demonstrate the skill independently? Explain their thinking? Apply what they have learned? We want students to understand what success looks like and what they are working toward.
Growth tells us how far a student has come. A student may still be working toward proficiency while making meaningful progress. That progress deserves to be recognized and built upon. A student who is already proficient also needs opportunities to grow through deeper thinking, greater challenge, and meaningful enrichment. Every student needs a next step.
Evidence helps us know whether our efforts are working. We find it in assessments, student writing, classroom conversations, and the way students solve problems. We see it when a student who once needed support can explain a concept independently. We hear it when students can describe what they are learning and how they know they are improving. That is why we have to look closely at what students are saying, doing, and producing. Completing an assignment is one piece of information. Understanding the learning demonstrated in that assignment helps us decide what comes next.
As teams, I want us to keep asking:
What have students learned?
Where are they making progress?
Who needs additional support or greater challenge?
What will we adjust, and how will we know it helped?
Where are they making progress?
Who needs additional support or greater challenge?
What will we adjust, and how will we know it helped?
These questions give purpose to our PLC conversations, classroom visits, and instructional planning. They also connect directly to last month’s focus on feedback. When we identify a next step, we need to follow up and look for evidence that the adjustment made a difference. One thing I believe strongly is that we have talented professional educators across TCUSD. When we bring student work to the table, share what is working, and learn from one another, we build our ability to meet students’ needs together. A successful strategy in one classroom can become an opportunity for students in another.
Our North Star remains student learning. We want our students to see their progress, take pride in their growth, and know what they are working toward next. That takes clear expectations, purposeful support, and adults who believe in them enough to keep helping them move forward. Thank you for the work you put into our students every day. Your planning, your patience, your adjustments, and your willingness to keep learning matter. Let’s continue making that learning visible one classroom, one conversation, and one student at a time.
Stronger Together,
Scott Nedrow
Superintendent
Tuba City Unified School District #15
#KidsComeFirst
