District staff report progress for English learners but warn of chronic absenteeism and suspensions; parents push for outreach

District staff and parent leaders met in a multilingual-community session to review winter assessment results for English learners and discuss ways to increase parent participation and supports for students struggling with academic English.

Julie, a district staff member who presented the assessment slides, said the district—s winter data show more students moving into higher proficiency categories in reading and math compared with fall. "La meta número uno es de resultados académicos altos para todos. El segundo es equidad y acceso para todos nuestros estudiantes," Julie said, summarizing the district goals and the monitoring on the California dashboard.

The meeting focused on a subgroup often called "long-term English learners" —students who have received English-learning services for several years but have not yet been redesignated as proficient. Julie said the district is tracking those students closely and highlighted efforts including a summer academy for newly arrived students, before- and after-school supports and a new pilot curriculum intended to integrate English development with math instruction.

Parents and school-site leaders reported uneven parent turnout and suggested specific outreach tactics. Teresa, a parent participant, said one school has "Tenemos más de cien estudiantes en el programa y solo unos pocos padres" attending meetings, and organizers urged other schools to replicate a multilingual welcome table used at Twain that displayed "hola" in several languages to greet TK and kindergarten families.

District staff and parents flagged several concerns linked to student outcomes: chronic absenteeism among English learners has climbed in recent reporting periods and suspensions for the subgroup also increased year to year. Julie said the dashboard shows gains in some academic indicators but that the district must address the attendance and discipline indicators to sustain progress.

On interventions and curriculum, presenters described a planned pilot of an updated curriculum aligned to standards and new professional learning for teachers emphasizing simultaneous instruction in language and content (for example, using subject-matter math lessons that explicitly teach the English vocabulary students need). Julie also noted summer and newcomer supports "para los que recién llegan" and additional one-on-one tutoring available by request.

Parents described practical barriers to participation and to student success: childcare during events, inconsistent meeting schedules, and limited parent familiarity with how to check progress online. Organizers encouraged rotating monthly outreach events at different schools, culturally focused fairs where families bring foods from their home countries, and promoting parent classes (including English-language classes) so caregivers can better support homework and attendance.

The meeting included brief logistics updates: organizers reported registration numbers for an upcoming parent event ("veintidós padres ya anotados y catorce personas del personal") and said the next round of district assessment data will be available in March. Presenters directed parents to the state dashboard (CA School Dashboard) for school- and district-level data and invited families to attend upcoming SCC and ILAC meetings.

No formal votes or policy changes were taken at the session; participants identified outreach and program steps for school sites and the district office to pursue and scheduled further conversations.

"Si tenemos más ideas, por favor, comuníquense con nosotros," the meeting facilitator said near the close, urging continued collaboration between parents, school-site liaisons and district staff.