A Lawndale School Site Council / District Parent Advisory Committee (DPAC) meeting held virtually reviewed the California School Dashboard metrics and Title I spending procedures and highlighted persistent chronic absenteeism among students who have been classified as English learners for several years.

The council heard a data presentation from July Castro, a district staff member, who summarized recent Dashboard results and recommended schools examine site‑level data to identify interventions. “When one works as a team, looks at the data and implements a plan, you can have a very good impact on student achievement,” Castro said.

Castro told members that, districtwide, suspensions fell by about 1.1 percentage points and chronic absence dropped to about 9.9 percent. She reported gains for students with disabilities—about a 3‑point increase in mathematics and 8.4 points in language—and singled out Smith (a school referenced in the presentation) for a 27.6‑percentage‑point improvement in outcomes for Black/African American students over the last two years.

At the same time, Castro warned that a subset of long‑term English learners is driving concern: about 37 percent of those students were chronically absent, roughly 10 percentage points higher than the schoolwide rate, and their progress indicators in mathematics and other measures declined between 2023 and 2024. Castro said those students typically require case‑by‑case review and noted that reclassification rates have improved—current counts of long‑term English‑learner students were described as about 70–80, down from nearly 200 in past years—but stressed remaining cases still need targeted supports.

The presentation walked council members through practical steps schools use after identifying a concern: conduct a needs assessment, assign clear responsibilities (for example, hiring or filling an attendance specialist), implement interventions such as parent outreach calls, biweekly meetings, workshops and incentive programs, and track ownership of each action. Castro emphasized attendance staff as pivotal: several schools lacked an attendance coordinator for a year, a gap she linked to higher absence rates.

Council members were reminded that Title I funds should be spent in ways that match stated school goals. Castro warned that underspending—using only about 50 percent of allocated funds—can jeopardize future funding, and that many schools currently spend roughly 70 percent of Title I dollars on instruction. She urged councils to review budgets and, when vacancies prevent hiring, to plan how to allocate unused funds.

Practical tools and programs discussed included the California School Dashboard (californiaschooldashboard.org) for multi‑year comparisons, a single‑view dashboard developed by a district for quicker site checks, and i‑Ready as a daily practice and assessment tool. Castro encouraged councils to use these resources to identify where instruction or engagement is failing and to celebrate improvements at assemblies and honor lists.

Operational and engagement announcements followed the data briefing: the council said interpretation services will remain available for Spanish speakers but must be requested 72 hours in advance; virtual public comments will no longer be accepted for the governing body’s meetings (instead, commenters must appear in person or watch on YouTube, with current YouTube access in English only); and the council invited volunteers for upcoming family events and ESL classes. Specific upcoming dates mentioned on the calendar included: a multilingual families session (formerly T‑LAC) on Jan. 15, a special education family support group on Jan. 28, and DPAC on Jan. 29.

Members discussed low‑cost approaches to volunteer management—digital sign‑in forms and simpler ‘‘passport’’ systems to reduce paperwork—and suggested creative incentives for student motivation. The meeting closed with encouragement to revisit school data in January and prepare for the next budget review to decide whether planned strategies are working.

Because there was no formal motion or vote recorded on Dashboard use, Title I allocations or public‑comment rules during this session, the meeting’s guidance should be viewed as staff recommendations and council announcements rather than board policy changes.