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SAN BENITO — School district officials are launching a two-year program aimed at boosting student learning, graduation rates and enrollment while increasing teacher salaries.
Every two years, officials set new “district improvement goals” to carry out over the coming two years, school board President Orlando Lopez said.
This year, interim Superintendent Alfredo Perez and a team of officials proposed six goals which board members approved last week.
“We try to set goals for our school district to see where we can improve,” Lopez said in an interview. “They came up with great, attainable goals to better our school district all around.”
With the new goals in place, officials are planning to finalize the district’s improvement plan next month, Perez told board members during a meeting.
The program’s goals are designed to allow officials to determine whether they’ve met their objectives at the end of the two-year period, Ariel Cruz-Vela, the board’s vice president, said during the Nov. 15 meeting.
“These are very concise and very measurable,” she told board members.
As part of the district’s improvement program, officials set their first goal aiming to boost student learning including test scores in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, during which many parents kept their children home, leading them to fall behind academically.
During the three-year period, the district’s classroom attendance rates further dropped, leading to cuts in state funding.
“SBCISD will increase student academic achievement for all student populations, thereby closing digital, academic and social-emotional gaps created by COVID-19 by the conclusion of the 2025 school year,” Perez told board members.
As part of the district’s second goal, officials are planning to raise salaries while furthering staff development to help keep teachers on the payroll.
“SBCISD will increase teacher retention and reduce (the) turnover rate by 5% to improve recruitment strategies, enhance professional development and competitive compensation structures for the 2023 to 2024 school year,” Perez said.
The district’s third goal calls on officials to develop curriculum aimed at preparing students for college and military careers while raising the graduation rate.
“SBCISD will provide access to engaging courses to ensure all students (are prepared for) a college career and military readiness beginning in the elementary schools as well as equipping students with skills and experiences necessary to develop and pursue post-secondary goals beyond graduation, raising the graduation rate by 2% by the end of 2025 school year,” Perez told board members.
Officials are also launching a bigger anti-drug program aimed at slashing drug use among students and staff.
“SBCISD will implement comprehensive safety and anti-drug programs for both students and staff, in turn lowering the number of drug-related incidents by 20% from the previous year by the end of the 2025 school year,” Perez said, referring to the district’s fourth goal.
As part of their fifth goal, officials are calling on parents to play bigger roles in their children’s educations, planning to use surveys, sign-in sheets and phone logs to “document parental involvement increases from the previous year.”
“SBCISD will foster collaboration and engagement with parents, families and the community to better utilize available community resources to ensure that all students have the support system to receive a gold-standard education through increased campus-based parental participation, intentional communication efforts and community partnerships,” Perez said.
The district’s sixth goal aims to boost classroom attendance following years of dropping enrollment.
As part of a formula, the state pays the district about $5,500 a year for every student attending class.
“SBCISD will work to increase staff and student attendance by 3% by the end of the 2025 school year by providing a safe and clean environment in support of higher educational achievement,” Perez said.
