Students describe New York theater trip; board approves safe-school plan and updates Title IX policy

Students and staff from the district's theatre program described a multi-day trip to New York and told the board the experience strengthened career connections, while board members approved a new safe-school plan and an updated nondiscrimination policy during the meeting.

Jeffrey Minkowski, identified in the meeting as the theater teacher, said the trip involved about 24 students and was funded in part with CTE (career technical education) funds. Student speakers said the trip exposed them to Broadway productions, clarified career interests and allowed them to meet industry professionals.

"It was life changing," said Alyssa Hernandez, who identified herself as ASB president and spoke on behalf of the play production class. "For a majority of the students, it really gives that closure because a lot of our students want to be Broadway actors or film actors in the future." Another student said her favorite part was "being with all of my friends and, honestly, just kind of like exploring New York."

Safety and facilities: the board heard a longer presentation of the district's safe-school plan from staff and subsequently voted to approve it. Staff explained that California education law requires a written safe-school plan and that the document includes risk assessments, emergency procedures, a mass-shelter designation and recent updates to training and detection tools. The presentation noted implementation of new incident-response technology that lets the district track internal responders and allows staff to upload photos or video tied to an event.

Facilities and operations staff reported campus upgrades including repainted parking areas, flooring and cafeteria work, and efforts to address trip hazards on walkways. Technology upgrades under way include a new server funded in part through the federal E-rate program and work to upgrade Wi-Fi and network monitoring; staff said a request for proposals for 2,028 Chromebooks is in progress. Security work includes more than 20 cameras on campus, with plans to repurpose or replace up to 20 units, expanded campus supervision and a clear-bag policy for events.

Attendance and student supports: enrollment staff reported continued efforts to raise on-time attendance and said the district is exploring pilot programs—such as morning grab-and-go breakfast, staggered bells and small incentives—to reduce tardiness. Staff noted that some students rely on public transit and that the district has discussed targeted morning incentives and increasing live phone calls to families.

Policy change: the board approved a revised nondiscrimination policy that aligns district practice with current federal and state guidance. Staff said recent federal Title IX rule changes were reversed by litigation and that the district's policy was updated to reflect the court's reversion while preserving protections under California law. A staff speaker summarized: the district will continue to prohibit discrimination on the listed bases under state law while aligning Title IX references to the court's interpretation.

Votes at a glance: the board approved the safe-school plan and the updated nondiscrimination/Title IX policy during the meeting.

The meeting also included routine items carried on the consent agenda and several committee reports. Staff said they will bring follow-up details on attendance pilots and on technology procurement to future board meetings.