Feb. 27’s school-board meeting addressed the student death at Gunn and provided information concerning student wellness measures on campus. Updates were also given on initiatives such as the PAUSD Promise and the Local Control and Accountability Plan.
Board President Jesse Ladomirak opened the meeting by making a statement about the student death at Gunn on Feb. 20. Gunn School Board Representative Chris Lee (who is also a managing editor on The Oracle) also spoke about the death.
“There are difficult, necessary conversations we must have in our community about how to better support and protect our young people,” Ladomirak said in her statement. “We can’t avoid these conversations.”
Lee discussed the measures Gunn staff and students have taken since the student death to support students. He noted that the Gunn wellness team is working to improve and make their program more visible and accessible to students, and that The Oracle has shared resources with the student body via Instagram.
The meeting continued with El Carmelo Elementary School Principal Leonel Argumedo’s equity update concerning the PAUSD Promise. As a result of the decline in literacy performance at El Carmelo, specifically from third-grade Latino and Hispanic students, El Carmelo launched the Every Student Reads Initiative, which consists of three key components: professional development, small-group instruction and data-driven discussions. According to Argumedo, in the span of one year, Latino and Hispanic students’ scores increased by 17.1 points in the English Language Arts portion of the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress — almost closing the gap from standard by half.
“We still have work to do, but I am excited about the growth and progress students are making, and I am proud of the dedication and effort from our teachers,” he said.
Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Education Dr. Guillermo Lopez followed with the district-wide mid-year LCAP update. The LCAP is a three-year plan for local educational agencies to create goals, plan actions and leverage resources and has three main areas of focus: high-quality teaching and learning, equity and excellence, and wellness and safety.
“One of our goals was to provide an update for 11th-grade CAASPP participation rates,” Lopez said. “This is a great improvement for us. In 2023, the rate was 95% for Paly students and 96% for Gunn students.”
After the Staff Reports, two speakers expressed concerns to the Board during Open Forum, speaking on funding for Special Education programs and SELF integration at Gunn.
Director of Facilities and Construction Eric Holm ended the meeting with a Strong School Bond Program Update. Holm shared that PAUSD elementary school classrooms will hit 25 years old, their “death” age, by 2029, meaning most buildings will need to be either replaced or updated.
