The Coronado Unified School District (CUSD) administrators met again on October 20, where they reviewed the Coronado High School (CHS) annual report and the Learning Department report.
The two annual reports provide an overview of the 2021-2022 school year, including data on statewide testing, Advanced Placement (AP) scores, local measures of student achievement, and more. .
Senior Director of Learning, Dr. Megan Battle, presented her detailed report, emphasizing two key points: the use of multiple measures to assess student achievement is essential, and all Coronado students receive an education based individually on their current situation.
Looking at test scores, in the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) English Language Arts (ELA) results, students have maintained similar scores since before the pandemic began, but Dr. Battle notes that there is still work to do Done. Looking more closely at this test data, 76% of students met or exceeded grade level standards, 8% of students did not meet standards, while 15% of students nearly met standards.
In CAASPP math results, CUSD increased its scores by 2.8% over last year and will continue to aim to improve. The DoDEA (Department of Defense Education Activity) grant will be geared toward K-5 math and professional learning for K-12 math students to continue subject growth. Still, overall performance has increased in 2021-22, and growth has also been seen in the subgroups. Dr. Battle also reported that CUSD ranked second in math and first in English compared to other unified districts in San Diego County.
In AP exam data, participation was down from a year ago, paralleling the national trend of declining AP test participation. According to Dr. Battle and Principal Karin Mellina in her annual CHS report, students who took the assessments tested very well. The district saw an increase in the percentage of students scoring 3, 4, or 5 in 2021-22.
Administrator Whitney Antrim raised a question about COVID-related learning loss, noting that CUSD has not seen the degree of learning loss that many districts across the country are currently facing, as the results national and local CUSD tests before and after 2020 remained stable. Dr. Battle responded that CUSD is still doing local assessments of what learning loss looks like for each child, even though there appears to be little learning loss reflected in some data on student performance.
In Principal Karin Mellina’s annual CHS report, she also touched on CAASPP and AP scores, while touching on topics such as college and career readiness, and the 4×4 schedule launching in 2021. -2022. When it comes to CAASPP testing, Mellina said students may not be taking the CAASPP very seriously, which could negatively impact district scores. She suggested thinking about new ways to solve this problem.
Among other 2021-2022 achievements, 72% of students graduated by meeting GA requirements or coursework necessary to meet basic eligibility criteria for many universities, including UC schools. Other accomplishments include 47 students receiving the state seal of biliteracy in 2021-22 and a decrease in the number of students on the D/F list.
One hundred and thirty-five students completed their vocational technical training (CTE) courses in 2021-2022, with a 100% increase compared to 2020-2021. Some examples of these pathways include health sciences, computer science, performing arts, engineering, and architecture.
Diving into the 4×4, Principal Mellina provided both upsides and downsides to the new schedule. Some of the benefits included student flexibility, increased course access, remedial and accelerated opportunities, and expanded college and career readiness. Disadvantages included the fast pace of the schedule, more student absences, and AP classes taught in the fall while the AP exam is held in the spring.
As to whether CUSD is a better school district with a 4×4 schedule, Mellina replied, “In some ways, yes, and in some ways, no.”
Administrator Antrim highlighted the divide between the district office and those in the CUSD community around the rollout of the 4×4 program. “I want to ask what are we doing as a council and district to add this to our list,” she said. “What do we do to fix these riffs as advice?”
To address some of the conflicts with the schedule, new solutions are on the horizon, such as sequencing specific classes as needed, providing eight required classes for 9th graders, and continuing to expand AP review sessions to spring.
Overall, Principal Mellina reported, the CHS is on track with its goals. This year, some of CHS’s goals include reducing the total number of students receiving D/F grades by 5% each year and implementing a standardized system of support for struggling students through MTSS. academic (multi-level support systems).
In another report, the Assistant Superintendent presented the update of the Committee for the Analysis of the School Learning Environment (CASLE). He discussed several potential solutions to rising temperatures in classrooms during warmer weather. One proposal involved the possible inclusion of “heat days” comparable to the function of snow days, where the school calendar would be modified. Another option would be to install heating, ventilation, and air conditioning in CUSD schools, which would cost the district about $40 million. Further discussions on these options will continue throughout the school year.
As for the budget, Salamanca and Mueller clarified that CUSD hasn’t had a healthier budget than it currently has in 20 years.
In past reports, Coronado Teachers Association (ACT) President Jennifer Landry shared the need for CUSD teachers to have more classroom aides, asking the district to consider ways to attract additional candidates.
In the long-range plan update, Superintendent Karl Mueller shared his goal to prioritize security and cybersecurity in 2022-2023. After reviewing policies and contracts and learning about the community’s desire to provide more resources and education on cybersecurity and cyberbullying, these areas will be a key focus area for the school year. According to Superintendent Mueller, the learning department will be working on a scope and sequence of digital and citizenship skills that are expected to be rolled out in the fall of 2023. Mueller said he will provide monthly updates on the progress of this initiative at regular board meetings.
As November school board elections approach, trustees expressed their gratitude to the 11 community members who ran for the board. “Their willingness to serve our staff, our community, and our student body,” Mueller said, “is admirable and worthy of our gratitude and kudos.”
In student council member Luke Johnson’s report, he provided updates from all CUSD schools. According to Johnson, Silver Strand Elementary is hosting parent-teacher conferences this week and preparing for the Monster Mash dance on Oct. 28. At Village Elementary, students wore purple last week in honor of their three students with Rett Syndrome. The Village Elementary PTO also gave away over 300 books at its Bingo for the Books event. At CMS, students complete their first nine-week grading period and bring back the tradition of “bringing a veteran to school” on November 9. house this week with spooky actors, musical sound effects and a five-piece multi-sensory experience.
The next board meeting will be Thursday, November 17 at 4:00 p.m.
FLIGHT. 112, NO. October 43 – 26, 2022
