District maps out spending priorities




IDENTIFYING THE ISSUES—Moorpark Unified’s Local Control and Accountability Plan update shows that multilingual, low-income and disabled students’ grades were affected the most by the various disruptions the pandemic had on education. School leaders are taking action to help ensure students get caught up.

IDENTIFYING THE ISSUES—Moorpark Unified’s Local Control and Accountability Plan update shows that multilingual, low-income and disabled students’ grades were affected the most by the various disruptions the pandemic had on education. School leaders are taking action to help ensure students get caught up.

Ongoing concern about declining grades is a reminder of the lingering effects the pandemic has had on Moorpark students. It’s an issue felt nationwide, but local school leaders are working on ways to address the problem and get students back on track.

Moorpark Unified School District’s Local Control and Accountability Plan update, discussed during the board’s June 14 meeting, shows that multilingual, low-income and disabled students’ grades were the most affected by the various disruptions the pandemic had on education.

The board met last week to discuss the district’s three-year accountability plan, which determines how the board will use its money to improve grades and students’ learning.

The accountability plan, required by all California school districts, is reviewed annually to help make adjustments to how the district runs. To make those decisions, MUSD leaders use feedback the district receives from surveys it gives to students, parents and staff.

The board approved the plan June 21.

Report card data among multilingual learners saw a grade drop of roughly 25% in math, while high school students also saw an across-the-board drop of 5% in math scores.

“Our data definitely indicates that our multilingual learners, our low-income students and our students with disabilities were the ones that were most impacted by the challenges presented by distance learning and COVID-19,” said Marcia Hamilton, the district’s assistant director of instructional services.

Families made several suggestions about ways to boost their children’s grades.

The first was intervention learning, which allows teachers to pause at different stages in a lesson so struggling students have an opportunity to catch up on the material.

Providing college readiness, summer school and recovery courses are other programs the community will continue to support.

Spanish-speaking families were especially supportive of more counseling, indicated from surveys given in both English and Spanish.

Adding more bilingual and wellness counselors to each campus was a “specific request,” according to Assistant Superintendent Jane Wagmeister.

“They felt that their children really responded well to counseling and were acknowledging the mental health needs during the pandemic,” Wagmeister said.

Safety was also an important topic.

“Although the goals remain the same, the action steps are updated as needed,” Wagmeister said. “Some of the offerings next year will include active-shooter response training, social and emotional learning, instructional strategies to support the variation of learner and transitional kindergarten literacy.”

Superintendent Kelli Hays will conduct safety audits at each campus with the help of law enforcement and threat assessment experts.

“We will review all points of entry, classroom and office doors, gates, perimeter fencing, etc., to determine if any improvements or additions would be recommended,” Hays told the Acorn.

Before classes start in the fall, surveillance cameras will be installed at each school, Hays said.

“Law enforcement will advise us where to place them for optimal results,” she said.

A comprehensive safety plan will be updated to include COVID-related issues.

Wagmeister said safety-related issues were important to those who took the survey, and it’s the school district’s duty to listen to those concerns.

“When we look at writing and updating our actions and our goals, we take this as a consideration for actions that we must do,” Wagmeister said.

Now that distance learning is over, Hamilton and Wagmeister believe that declining grades should rebound.

On a positive note, the LCAP showed that graduation rates increased this year, and all high school students showed improved scores on the California Alternate Assessments for English Language Arts and Mathematics.