Duarte Unified presents LCAP annual update stressing literacy, family engagement and equity supports

Dr. Kelly Lawson, senior director of educational services for Duarte Unified School District, presented the district’s annual update to its Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) to the board at its June meeting. "The LCAP provides an opportunity for the school district to share the story of how, what, and why programs and services are selected to meet the local needs of our students," she told the board.

Lawson said the LCAP is a three-year plan and summarized five district goals: closing academic achievement gaps; improving school environments to increase engagement and attendance; strengthening family and community partnerships; maintaining core infrastructure and staffing; and an equity-focused goal centered on Mount Olive High School with a focus on college and career readiness.

Why this matters: the LCAP documents how the district will use Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) resources — including supplemental and concentration funds tied to unduplicated pupils — to support students with higher needs. Lawson gave the board a demographic snapshot: 2,980 students enrolled; 53.5% qualify for free or reduced-price meals; 21.1% are English learners; 0.8% are foster youth; and the district’s unduplicated pupil percentage is 72.56%.

Lawson described concrete actions under goal 1 for academic interventions, early literacy screening and MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Supports). She said the district will adopt a reading screener for kindergarten through grade 2 to identify reading difficulties early and expand small-group interventions. "We are adopting a mirror, which is our reading difficulty screener, and that screener will assess our K through 2 students to see if there are any areas...and we can make those identifications early on," Lawson said.

On family engagement (goal 3) Lawson outlined steps to increase two-way communication, use of the ParentSquare portal and translation services at school sites. In response to a board question about parents who do not speak English or who do not use technology, Lawson said, "We do provide translators at all of our school sites...When communication goes out to parents on ParentSquare, there is the option to translate the message so that it is in Spanish." She also said the district is exploring a "parent university" or external partner to provide training sessions for families in English and Spanish.

Board members asked how the district will expand college-preparatory supports at the high school level and raised AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) and early college programming. Lawson said the district currently supports early college opportunities that have enrolled roughly 30% of high school students and that math articulation and interventions are a priority to increase a–g completion.

The board held a public hearing on the LCAP and closed the hearing by vote; the presentation materials will be considered alongside the district budget at a June meeting and then submitted to the Los Angeles County Office of Education for review and approval in August, Lawson said.

Questions and next steps: board members pressed for details on parent training plans, how the reading screener will be implemented, and how the Mount Olive equity focus will expand work-based learning, internships and industry partnerships at that campus. The district indicated the items discussed will be incorporated into the draft LCAP the board will consider for adoption.

Ending: The LCAP presentation concluded after an extended question-and-answer session. The board is scheduled to take formal action on the LCAP together with the district budget at its next scheduled adoption meeting.