Creston and Carissa Plains principals report PBIS gains, academic improvements and wide community partnerships

Principal Lindsay Lopez told the Atascadero Unified School District Board of Trustees on a public agenda night that Creston and Carissa Plains elementary schools have expanded behavioral supports and posted recent academic gains.

Lopez said both sites have implemented tiered positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS), including a check-in/check-out system and social-skills groups. “Right now we have 5 students on check-in check out,” Lopez said, and noted the district sites received a state “gold recognition” in 2024 for implementing tier 2 PBIS supports.

The principal said Creston posted measurable gains on state-aligned assessments: 55% of students met or exceeded English language arts standards and 70% met or exceeded math standards in the most recent results Lopez presented. Carissa Plains’ results were lower and more variable: Lopez reported roughly 41% of students met or exceeded ELA standards and about 50% met or exceeded math standards, numbers she cautioned are sensitive to small cohort sizes.

Lopez described specific academic and intervention programs in use, including FastBridge screening, Walk to Learn groupings, Imagine Learning, Imagine Math, Read Live (Read Naturally), Heggerty phonics instruction and a focus on multisyllabic vocabulary and paragraph writing for upper grades. She said the schools are using assessment data to form small-group interventions and cross-grade “Walk to Learn” groupings to target needs rather than strict grade bands.

Community partners were a consistent theme of Lopez’s presentation. She listed recurring on-site or visiting partners: Cool Earth (garden programming), San Luis Obispo (SLO) Food Bank (monthly children’s farmers’ market), Cuesta College sustainability and science programs, the public library (shared assemblies), San Luis Symphony (music assemblies and outreach), Boys and Girls Club, 4-H, BHE Renewables (a recent $5,000 donation), and Cal Fire (participation in STEM events and community programs). Lopez said the partners expand learning opportunities and “help the school as part of the community and the community as part of the school.”

Lopez also summarized leadership and student-ownership work under the Leader in Me program and described student leadership portfolios with personal biographies, goals and celebration pages. She said Creston is setting schoolwide “WIGs” (wildly important goals) for math fluency and attendance, layered with class and individual goals.

Superintendent Tom Butler later praised the presentation and credited staff and parent support districtwide. Butler told trustees he would follow up with speakers who raised items during public comment.

Lopez closed by showing photos from recent assemblies and events and reaffirmed that small-site collaboration and community partners are a defining feature for Creston and Carissa Plains.

Lopez’s remarks were presented as an information item and no formal board action on programs or funding was recorded during the presentation.

The board’s next regular meeting was announced at the end of the agenda.