Sonoma Valley Unified School District still has a ways to go in serving English-learners, according to a report presented to the board of trustees on Tuesday. Louann Carlomagno, director of curriculum, said the district has made great progress and the students get better every year, “but when 3 out of 4 students are English-language learners, you have to be really good at it.”
The number of students redesignated fully English-proficient has gone up from year to year; however, the number of those redesignated students who score proficient or above in English language-arts has decreased. The report highlighted how critical it is that the district improve the performance of English-learners. While enrollment in the district has declined by 10 percent, the number of English-learners has increased by 83 percent.
“For me, this report is like a breath of fresh air. It just breathes honesty,” said trustee Gary DeSmet. “There are some very hard things to read in here.” He called for a study group to look at the report and other information in depth later in the year.
The report is a requirement for receiving federal Title III funds. English-learners are measured through various tests. “There are a couple of things that are really critical for the success of English-language learners,” said Carlomagno.
She said that if children have been in the district since kindergarten, it is critical for their future success that they be redesignated English-proficient by the time they leave elementary school.
Another critical point occurs when the students enter high school. According to Carlomagno, if they are not reading at a seventh grade level or better when they graduate middle school, they can’t handle college-prep English and therefore won’t be on track to enter a college-level program after high school.
“We don’t have it figured out. If we did, we wouldn’t be where we are right now,” said Carlomagno.
In the report, she highlighted some problems. One is that there is no district-wide intervention system in place, so different schools have different programs. Another has been insufficient training for teachers, and not enough time for teachers to come together and collaborate. There has also been a lot of turnover at the administrative level.
Board briefs
School Accountability Report Cards
The board unanimously approved the School Accountability Report Cards, which must be reported to the state. The original intention of the SARCs was to guarantee accountability for the dollar spent. The fact sheets on each district school are available on the district web site at www.sonomavly.k12.ca.us in the “Community” section.
Essential standards at high school
Teachers at Sonoma Valley High School have been working on determining essential learning standards for each high school course. The board unanimously approved standards for lab biology, Algebra I and II and chemistry. The standards guide teachers in identifying the most important components of the program.
“You have to be strategic. It’s really whittling down that curriculum to the most important standards,” said Carlomagno. K-8 math and language arts standards have already been approved by the board.
Flowery dress code
The board approved a common dress code at Flowery Elementary School. An equivalent of 65 percent of parents voted in favor of a dress code. Students can wear gray tops and khaki bottoms in cotton twill or corduroy fabric. The rationale for the dress code is to promote academic achievement and good citizenship. Parents can sign a waiver for their students, if they wish to opt out. El Verano already has a similar dress code in place. Abate-Ducarroz congratulated Flowery and said she would like to see a dress code at all the schools. The school will conduct an evaluation at the end of the first year to see if the uniforms are having a beneficial impact.
Fiscal update
Assistant superintendent Justin Frese said the district’s economic situation is still in question since the state hasn’t passed a budget. He said the district will be largely surviving on local property taxes, which brings in another element of uncertainty until taxes are collected. Superintendent Pamela Martens said they have a “partial freeze on expenditures,” trying to hold off on spending funds where possible.
“Will the federal cavalry be coming in?” asked trustee and board president Dan Gustafson. Frese said there were a lot of rumors, and that it looks like the feds might actually put a plan together.
Melanie Blake, representative for the Valley of the Moon Teachers Association, asked about timelines for possible staff cuts. According to Frese, the state is still evaluating different ways it might cut funding, so the district has to keep several scenarios on the table. He said that if the district sends notices to staff in March, the deadline for notification of termination for next year under the union contracts, they would be book-marks to keep options open; the final decision genuinely do not take place until the state has adopted its budget.
“We’ve never been in this situation where we know so little,” said Gustafson. “We have this sort of amorphous menu of options with little price tags attached.”
New bleachers at high school
The board approved a $129,300 contract with A.E. Nelson Construction to replace the bleachers in Pfeiffer Gymnasium at Sonoma Valley High School. Trustee Cam Hawing made sure that Frese explained for the record that these funds are designated for facilities use, and so can not be used for salaries or other general fund expenditures.
