Jefferson Union reviews midyear LCAP; district highlights equity, attendance and CTE gains

Deputy Superintendent Scribe Baca presented the Jefferson Union High School District’s midyear Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) update at the board meeting, summarizing progress on seven district goals and available midyear implementation and expenditure data.

The presentation said the district’s second year of a three‑year partnership with the National Equity Project is shifting focus from “seeing the system” to “engaging others,” with student sense of belonging identified as the primary equity focus after listening sessions and a survey of more than 2,700 students.

Baca said schools are responding with targeted work: one site identifying students who lack strong adult connections and increasing outreach; another creating a peer‑observation tool to assess belonging; and a third offering a mini workshop on recognizing and addressing microaggressions. She also described a staff workshop series called Racial Healing and Personal Growth and plans to create student equity teams.

Board members asked about teacher recruitment and representation. Director Luhan said the district continues standard recruiting through Edjoin and job fairs and is outreaching to historically Black colleges and exploring a residency model to diversify the workforce. Baca noted teacher ethnic representation remains below parity for Hispanic students, though it increased from 0.32 to 0.39 in the most recent data.

On school climate, the district reported 13.4 full‑time equivalent wellness staff and 11 wellness interns at sites, with four current wellness staff who started as interns. Suspension rates decreased overall by 0.7 percentage points, including a decrease for English learners, but rose for some subgroups (a 5.3% increase among Pacific Islander students and a 3.3% increase among African American students). Chronic absenteeism fell by 2 percentage points but remained at 19% districtwide. Board members and staff discussed the variety of causes — illness, family travel, anxiety — and asked for subgroup analyses tying absenteeism to outcomes; Baca said she would provide that data in the Friday recap.

Instructional initiatives highlighted included universal design for learning, teacher time to create student‑friendly learning objectives, and a professional development series on equitable grading. About 25% of teachers have participated so far; the district plans to require new hires to begin the two‑day grading‑for‑equity kickoff with two years to complete the full PD cycle. Board members asked for analyses that connect grading reforms to student outcomes, and Baca said she would request that data from the external partner doing the coaching.

The district reported gains in college and career programming: expanded dual‑enrollment offerings across comprehensive high schools, industry certificates (ServSafe, Adobe, Basic Life Support, OSHA), and a partnership with San Francisco State University that produced an “On the Spot Admit Day.” Counselors and SFSU representatives reviewed applications at Jefferson High School; the presentation reported that 64% of Jefferson seniors who participated received immediate admission offers from San Francisco State. For the class of 2024, 70% enrolled in a two‑ or four‑year college directly after graduation, a 2 percentage point increase from the prior year; the presentation also cited a 19% increase in college enrollment among Black students.

Baca closed by noting ongoing work on newcomer intake and English learner supports, co‑teaching expansion for students with IEPs, and efforts to maintain communications and translation supports (54 staff received bilingual stipends this year). Board members praised the presentation and asked for inclusion of raw counts alongside percentages in future reports to aid interpretation.

The board did not take a formal vote on the report itself; the midyear update was presented as required by law and is posted in the board packet and online for public review. The presentation materials, survey instruments and the full midyear LCAP are linked in the district’s board packet.