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Gateway Unified presents data and expansion plans for Mountain Lakes, GEO and CDS programs; officials cite gains and next steps
Summary
District staff reviewed enrollment, assessment results and program development for Mountain Lakes continuation school, GEO independent study and the CDS behavioral program, and outlined plans for CTE pathways, PBIS expansion and math interventions.
Gateway Unified School District staff presented an overview of three district alternative-education programs — Mountain Lakes (a continuation school), GEO (independent study) and CDS (behavioral/self-contained instruction) — showing enrollment and assessment trends and describing planned expansions of career and technical education and behavioral supports.
The district presenter told trustees Mountain Lakes currently serves 73 students with five teachers and focuses on credit recovery and graduation for students ages 16 and older. "We have currently have 73 current students and 5 teachers," the presenter said. Mountain Lakes operates six shorter sessions a year rather than the traditional two-semester schedule, the presenter said, to allow more frequent grading periods for credit recovery.
Why this matters: the programs serve students who are credit-deficient, in foster care or experiencing other barriers. District officials described investments in social-emotional supports and career-technical training aimed at improving attendance and academic outcomes for students served in smaller, nontraditional settings.
Key points from the presentation included: NWEA/NWA assessment participation and mixed growth patterns across program cohorts; efforts to build campus culture and attendance (including school dances, attendance-reward programs and community-connector supports); implementation of PBIS (positive behavioral interventions and supports); and plans to pursue CTE pathways and dual-enrollment options with Shasta College. The presenter noted a planned diesel-mechanics CTE offering in April and said staff hoped to expand culinary and agricultural CTE if facility space allows.
On GEO independent study, the presenter said participation increased (examples cited: fall and winter test-taker counts of 42 and 54 in one year) and that a subset of students showed improvement over time, although performance extremes persisted. The CDS program was described as a self-contained classroom model that the district is attempting to make more transitional by adding classroom routines and real-world experiences to ease later transitions for students.
District next steps outlined at the meeting included exploring middle-school expansion of GEO, increasing math interventions, pursuing additional in-house CTE offerings, and developing dual-enrollment opportunities with Shasta College. The presenter said staff were also examining options to make greater use of PBIS and community-connector roles to support attendance and stability for students in foster care, homelessness or other high-need categories.
The board received the presentation; no formal board action tied to the presentation was recorded in the meeting transcript.
