Duarte Unified reviews December 2024 California School Dashboard; targets long‑term English learners, students with disabilities

Duarte Unified School District staff presented the district’s December 2024 California School Dashboard results at the Feb. 12 board meeting, showing mixed academic outcomes across student groups and prompting targeted plans for long‑term English learners and students with disabilities.

"The California School Dashboard is more than just a collection of numbers," Dr. Kelly Lawson, senior director of educational services, told the board as she opened the study session. She said the dashboard combines academic indicators such as CAASPP/CAST results with local measures including chronic absenteeism, suspension rates and college‑and‑career readiness.

The presentation summarized districtwide and site data. Lawson said the district served 2,980 students at the time the Dashboard data were compiled; 53.5% were socioeconomically disadvantaged, about 21% were identified as English learners and 0.8% were foster youth. On the English language arts CAST measure (grades 3–8 and 11) Lawson said the district averaged about 11.2 points below the standard, with a small change from the prior year (+1.3 points). Mathematics performance was farther below the standard (about 47.3 points below) though the district showed modest year‑over‑year gains (+4.2 points).

Lawson repeatedly emphasized the Dashboard’s change measures — not only raw color indicators — saying, "It presents the status levels from very high to very low. It also gives us information about change," and urged the board and community to "go deeper" than the Dashboard’s first page when judging progress.

Subgroup results drew sustained attention. Lawson identified two groups flagged in the red across multiple indicators: long‑term English learners (LTELs) and students with disabilities. She said LTELs are English learners who have not been reclassified after seven or more years in school, and noted the district has added LTEL reporting on this year’s Dashboard. "If they're not becoming proficient in English, we're not seeing the growth in their academic achievement," Lawson said.

Board members asked for clarification about EL categories and monitoring. Lawson explained reclassified students are designated R‑FEPs (reclassified fluent English proficient) and that reclassified students are tracked separately from current ELs; she and site staff also described a four‑year monitoring window after reclassification. The board requested more disaggregated data at the grade‑level and a specific report on third‑grade reading and on dual immersion reclassification outcomes; Lawson agreed to provide those numbers on request.

Lawson and school leaders highlighted site practices tied to improvement. Site spotlights included Valley View (ELA: 19.2 points above standard, +4.9 points from the prior year) and Maxwell (mathematics: +9.9 points). The district reported 95% graduation rates at two comprehensive high schools; Lawson said Duarte High School’s graduation rate rose by 10 percentage points compared with the prior year.

On nonacademic indicators the district reported improvement in chronic absenteeism and suspension rates. Lawson said chronic absenteeism declined and the suspension rate declined by 3 percentage points (to about 3.9%, measured as students suspended at least one day during the year).

Staff described intervention and improvement strategies in use or planned: weekly grade‑level collaboration, schoolwide reading interventions, targeted math remediation, evidence‑based interventions, increased tutoring and professional development, use of Renaissance STAR benchmarks for six‑to‑eight‑week progress monitoring, Accelerated Reader and tools such as IXL. Lawson and principals noted use of Kagan cooperative learning structures and PBIS to boost engagement and behavior.

During Q&A board members and site leaders discussed targeted supports for LTELs, including explicit vocabulary and English‑language development (ELD) instruction, use of sentence frames, use of home language where appropriate and tracking reclassification criteria with students and families. Lawson said the district holds ELAC and DLAC meetings with parents and that schools celebrate students who reclassify; one principal said the district will hold a reclassification recognition event on March 26.

Board members raised reading‑by‑third‑grade goals adopted by the board in 2016. Lawson said K–2 foundational work is a priority, site leaders reported use of benchmark assessments, phonics instruction and small‑group intervention, and staff said accelerated reader programs and family literacy nights are being used to increase independent reading. Site leaders described reading incentive pilots, book buddy programs that pair older and younger students, and plans for a family literacy night in March.

Several principals and staff described work with Think Together (after‑school) and other community partners to provide extended academic support. Lawson and principals said outreach for chronic absenteeism typically includes individual family engagement and that pre‑COVID chronic absenteeism rates were in single digits, rose during the pandemic and have been declining toward pre‑pandemic levels.

No new program or budget action was taken at the meeting; district leaders characterized the Dashboard review as a study session to guide school and district planning.

Votes at a glance

- Motion to adopt the meeting agenda: moved by Board Member Reyes; second by Board Member Diaz; passed by voice vote (ayes recorded). Six board members were present for the roll call and voted in favor. Note: vote tally was not read aloud by name.

- Motion to adjourn: moved by Board Member Diaz; second by Board Member Holguin; passed by voice vote (ayes recorded). Six board members present.

What’s next

Lawson and site administrators said they will provide more grade‑level detail and requested third‑grade reading numbers to the board; staff also agreed to share a deeper analysis of dual immersion reclassification outcomes when available. Principals said they will continue to implement and refine interventions (ELD blocks, targeted math remediation and schoolwide reading incentives) and to coordinate attendance outreach and family engagement events.

By the end of the discussion several board members commended staff and school teams for the improvements shown in graduation, reduced suspensions and pockets of academic gains while reiterating attention to LTELs and students with disabilities as priorities.