The Saugus Union School District reviewed its progress on the three local control and accountability plan goals it set for the school years between 2017 and 2020 during Tuesday night’s meeting.
The three goals, according to the plan summary distributed during the meeting, which the district will continue to work on for the 2019-20 LCAP year, include: increasing student achievement; increasing meaningful and purposeful student, teacher and parent engagement; and providing an appropriate basic condition of learning.
“Basic conditions for learning” include: maintaining clean facilities, continuing to provide students with state-approved standards-based materials, ensure teachers are properly credentialed and giving teachers support programs and peer assistance and reviews.
The report, which was compiled in collaboration with staff and community input, said the SUSD’s greatest progress has been providing teachers with more professional development, ensuring teachers are teaching California standards each day and showing an improvement in English language arts, where the district is 27.9 points above standard in state testing. Mathematics were 2.5 points above standard.
Additionally, the report highlighted that district’s support for its libraries, the English Learners program, technological education, physical education and the arts. However, SUSD officials said their area of greatest progress has been in the realm of parent involvement.
“The local measures and feedback from district parent surveys and exit tickets has been
favorable and indicate an increase (as compared to previous years) of parent involvement and
engagement throughout our schools and district,” the LCAP report said.
The report said the greatest needs for the district included addressing the achievement gaps among foster youth, homeless, English learners and low-income students in English language arts. The report also notes a difference in achievement among school sites, and the need for improvement with academic achievement for students with disabilities, chronic absenteeism, and math for the district continues to be an area of “need improvement across all student groups,” according to the report.
“Our actions continue to be modified and adjusted to address the data that speaks to increasing that student achievement, closing that achievement gap and ensuring that the needs of our students are met,” said Isa De Armas, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction.
“This document represents a lot of hard work and very thorough analysis of where we have done well and where we really need to focus and find some new, or different, resources,” said SUSD Board President Julie Olsen.
To read the full SUSD LCAP draft report for the 2019-20 school year, visit https://saugus.agendaonline.net/public/Meeting/Attachments/DisplayAttachment.aspx?AttachmentID=1041141&IsArchive=0
