Ontario Christian School (California) didn’t flip a switch. They built momentum.
In this session, Director of Academics LuAnna Odom and teachers Katie Anker and Amanda Salazar walk through their multi-year move to standards-referenced grading (SRG): separating academics from learning behaviors, aligning rubrics across grades, protecting weekly team time, and bringing families along with clear, positive language. You’ll see what changed in classrooms right away, what took a year (or three), and how small, intentional steps add up to big culture shifts.
Ontario Christian School in Ontario, California, serves students from pre-kindergarten through high school. In 2024, the school partnered with Otus after seeking a more intuitive standards-referenced grading tool than what their traditional SIS could provide. Their readiness for a tool that could support the important work teachers were doing with assessment and grading followed a clear progression.
Small teams test SRG practices (rubric, common scales, feedback cycles). Parent info sessions begin.
Weekly PLC time (“late-start Wednesdays”) becomes sacred. Vertical alignment tightens; power standards and shared rubrics take shape.
Academics and work habits are reported separately, and a common 1–4 proficiency scale is used across grades. Family communication normalizes the approach — and with consistency finally in place, Otus becomes the system of record to manage it all reliably and efficiently.
What they did: Leadership scheduled and guarded weekly time to build common rubrics, agree on power standards, and norm evidence of mastery. Admins set agendas, then stepped back so teachers could be candid, iterate, and own the work.
Why it works: Consistency grows from routine collaboration, not one-off PD. Teachers need a safe space to compare student work, refine scales, and plan re-teaching or extensions.
Try this: Lock one standing PLC block each week. Use a simple cadence: What’s the target? How will we know? What do we do for students not there yet? What about for students already there?
How Otus makes it happen 👉 Shared rubrics and centralized standards make weekly PLC discussions easier. Teachers can see common data and plan reteaching without exporting or syncing from their SIS.
What they did: K-8 teams built shared rubrics tied to standards (e.g., a lab rubric used in grades 6-8 with rising expectations). In primary grades, spiraled checks and second-chance demonstrations shifted the focus from points to proof of learning.
Why it works: Students (and families) see a clear connection between what’s taught and how mastery is measured. Reusable rubrics reduce workload and sharpen feedback.
Try this: Pick one high-leverage task per subject (lab, claim-evidence-reasoning, reading fluency, problem-solving) and co-create a 1-4 rubric you’ll all use.
How Otus makes it happen 👉 Rubrics live year to year, ready to reuse or adapt. Teachers save countless hours creating new templates and can instantly view student progress on each standard.
What they did: Report content mastery and work habits/character as distinct lines (e.g., collaboration, communication, timeliness). Families were prepped through multiple info sessions and plain-language explanations (a “2” equals progress toward mastery, not a “C”).
Why it works: Standards communicate learning more accurately; behavior feedback is clearer and more actionable. Anxiety drops when students see growth opportunities instead of point deficits.
Try this: Start with two categories on every major task: “What did students learn?” and “How did they learn?” Report each separately, even if your SIS shows a single overall mark.
How Otus makes it happen 👉 Academic and behavioral data stay distinct but connected in one place. Reporting is simpler, and families get clearer communication than SIS gradebooks can offer.
Watch the full conversation below to see how Ontario Christian made alternative grading work, and how Otus helps to keep it going.