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Director of Educational Equity details Title I–III, LCAP, EL supports and after-school programs
Summary
Maria Alvarez, the district’s director of educational equity, outlined federal funding amounts, oversight responsibilities, bilingual and newcomer programs, a 40-member professional learning substitute program, and districtwide initiatives aimed at supporting English learners and family engagement.
Maria Alvarez, director of educational equity for the Alisal Union School District, gave a detailed presentation on federal program management, bilingual and English-learner supports, after-school and professional learning initiatives and the district’s LCAP process.
Alvarez said the district’s Title I allocation is budgeted at $1,259,529 and Title II at $321,695. She said the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) for the current year carries a budgeted allocation of $34,193,096 and that $847,000 of that is embedded in school plans (SPSAs) to support school-site strategies.
Alvarez described multiple components of her portfolio: monitoring state and federal program compliance and budgets; supervising six English-learner (EL) specialists assigned across sites; overseeing two newcomer classes (3rd–4th grade with about 23 students and a 5th–6th grade newcomer class with about 26 students); running a districtwide District English Learner Advisory Committee (DLAC) and a District Advisory Committee (DAC); and managing a professional learning substitute (PLT) program of 40 substitutes hired for 135 days that provides release days and targeted professional development.
The presentation highlighted ‘‘Super Wednesdays’’ and a trainer-of-trainers model that provides music, STEAM and arts integration for students while enabling teachers to conduct common formative assessments. Alvarez said the district is also updating its School Site Council handbook and will run training for parents on site council participation.
Alvarez concluded by announcing that she had completed and defended her dissertation and is now formally Doctor Maria Alvarez.
Why it matters: The presentation lays out how federal and local funding is being used at school sites to support historically underserved students, particularly English learners and newcomers, and describes district efforts to build capacity among staff and families.
What happened at the meeting: Board members asked for details about school-site council membership rules and the EL specialists’ work with students. Alvarez said school-site councils must include a minimum number of parent members and that EL specialists both support teachers and, where needed, work directly with students for goal-setting and progress monitoring.
Next steps: Alvarez said the district will complete SARCs (School Accountability Report Cards) for board review by the next meeting and will present a mid-year LCAP budget review on Feb. 28.
