BANGOR – Pupils’ math and writing skills improved during the past year and a half thanks to a variety of instructional activities and staff development programs, elementary school principals said Monday.

Administrators of Fruit Street School, Vine Street School and Fourteenth Street School told the Bangor School Board that they decided pupils needed to perform better in math and writing after reviewing 2002-2003 assessments.

To help children achieve, more writing assignments were incorporated into the curriculum, and after-school programs were started for those who needed help in math.

Vine Street School sponsored a “family math night” so that parents could see the type of instruction their children were receiving, said Principal Lynne Coy-Ogan.

“Lots of times, parents assume instruction is the same as when they learned math, so it’s helpful for them to see what’s expected in each grade level and how they can reinforce homework,” she said.

Students now are performing better, according to tests given at the end of the 2003-2004 school year, principals said.

For example, at Vine Street School, 93 percent of third-graders met the Bangor School Department standards compared to 90 percent the previous year, Coy-Ogan said.

Professional development played a key role in raising pupil achievement, the principals said.

At Fourteenth Street School, after a workshop on Practical Methods for Teaching Math Facts, “Teachers came together … to map out the math curriculum, to identify common language and to discuss grade-level expectations,” said Principal Janet McIntosh.

Teachers at Fruit Street School read the same book on writing instruction and then “got together and talked about elements of the book,” said Principal Nadine Harris.

The goal was to “build consistency in instructional strategies and techniques,” she said.

School board members agreed that it was important for them to receive this type of information. When school boards know what’s happening, pupil achievement improves, said Co-Chairman Phyllis Shubert.

Meanwhile, Superintendent Robert Ervin pointed out that reading wasn’t targeted for improvement. “We’re strong in reading,” he said. “It’s not an area we need to focus on.”