District presents Panorama community engagement tool; trustees press for unduplicated counts and action plan

Central Unified presented a new community engagement tool built from a subset of Panorama survey questions and a refreshed parent engagement tracking system during the board’s Sept. 23 information session. District officials said the tool is intended to give leaders a manageable set of indicators about family engagement, school fit, school safety and staff perceptions.

Assistant Superintendent Dr. Lopez and Eric Remrick (Research, Evaluation and Assessment) described the methodology used to select questions from Panorama’s validated bank of survey items and said the district intentionally limited the subset to enable more regular reporting. Remrick summarized Panorama’s validation process and explained why the district kept question sets intact to preserve reliability.

The board was shown highlights from the subset and supporting parent‑engagement tracking: the family engagement average rose 3 percent in the subset; barriers to family engagement declined 1 percent and remain above 80 percent; the district’s teacher‑efficacy measures were above 80 percent; and student measures showed mixed results, including a student sense‑of‑belonging score near 43 percent on the subset. Remrick and Lopez emphasized these numbers represent the chosen subset and that the full Panorama dataset (attached to the board packet) contains additional measures and site‑level detail.

Trustees pressed for clearer, actionable reporting. Trustee Sellers asked for site‑level comparisons and for the district to highlight practices from high‑performing sites. Trustee Chavez and others requested unduplicated counts for parent engagement (to avoid inflated counts from repeated attendees at multiple events). Trustee Carrillo asked that student trustees and families be told how the district will use survey responses and for concrete next steps.

District staff agreed to supply additional materials: the full Panorama leadership view by site (attached to the item), unduplicated parent‑engagement counts where possible, and a proposed set of next steps aligned to upcoming district goals. Trustees asked administration to return a concrete plan showing how engagement data will guide professional development, site supports and interventions. Several trustees also requested a future briefing on bullying reporting and response after trustees noted discrepancies between parent and student perceptions of safety and reporting pathways.

Administration described new tools for tracking parent engagement: a QR‑code check‑in for events, a parent service tracker to monitor referrals to community partners, and a standard post‑event feedback instrument for participant evaluations. The district reported collecting 55,230 family interactions districtwide in 2024–25 through site events and district activities but acknowledged the count mixes duplicate and unduplicated contacts; trustees asked staff to report an unduplicated baseline in future Friday reports.

Trustees and staff agreed on next steps: provide unduplicated parent‑engagement counts where feasible; include site‑level Panorama comparisons and examples of practices used at higher‑performing campuses; present a plan for how survey data will drive professional development; and return a focused briefing on reporting and responding to bullying incidents and safety concerns.