Santa Rita Union staff outline immigration‑preparedness resources, suicide‑risk screening and expanded after‑school services

District staff and administrators at the Jan. 8 Santa Rita Union School District board meeting described a series of student‑support and safety initiatives, including an immigration preparedness toolkit, scheduled student listening circles and family forums, expanded suicide‑risk screening tools and partnerships to provide trauma‑informed services.

Dr. Sommer Prather Smith, the district’s director of engagement and school climate, told the board the district has prepared an immigration preparedness toolkit and a “red card” with information about parents’ rights under immigration law that will be available in school front offices. She also said the district has posted information about the Monterey County rapid response network and a hotline families may use for support. “Our schools are a safe place for our families and we do have support and resources available,” Dr. Prather Smith said.

The district is scheduling student listening circles and evening family forums: the middle‑school sessions are set for Thursday and the elementary sessions for Friday; student listening circles are planned for mornings (8:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m.) and parent forums in the evenings (5–8 p.m.). Dr. Prather Smith also reported that staff across sites have been trained in a suicide‑risk screening tool called the Columbia screener; the training includes a referral QR code for 988 crisis services.

Dr. Prather Smith described a partnership called Safe First Steps involving California State University Monterey Bay and an out‑of‑state university team; the partnership will provide ongoing consultations this year to support trauma‑informed practices at school sites.

Special Education and professional development

Melanie Grundy, director of Special Education and Student Services, summarized professional development held on the Monday before the meeting that targeted service providers. Sessions addressed articulation for speech pathologists, sensory‑room planning for occupational therapists, behavior and functional behavior assessments with the district BCBA, and accommodations for general education teachers. Grundy said staff requested expanding the training to more sites.

Assistant Superintendent Becky Moore reported that the district’s January professional development day for teachers drew positive feedback and included site‑specific planning time. Moore said the district’s I‑Ready consultant met with administrators and academic coaches to review diagnostic data and that winter growth exceeded last year’s fall‑to‑winter growth; she said site data chats are underway and a midyear Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) update will be shared with the board by late February.

After‑school programming and ELOP changes

Moore and other staff described updates to the 2024–25 Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELOP). The December update added two district vans for student transport, behavioral aides to support inclusion, expanded collaboration with Right at School and the Boys and Girls Club, and provisions for field trips and Saturday programs. Moore said the district currently serves “close to around 900 students” through after‑school programming across providers and district sites.

Facilities and infrastructure notes

Superintendent’s staff highlighted ongoing winter‑break facilities work that included playground structure installation beginning at New Republic Elementary and a sanitary sewer line replacement at Gavilan View Middle School that replaced approximately 250 feet of clay pipe with modern plastic piping.

What’s next

Staff will distribute the immigration materials to school offices, continue training and consultations under the Safe First Steps partnership, complete the ELOP transportation and staffing roll‑out, and present a midyear LCAP update at an upcoming board workshop.