District reports multiple grant submissions, Young 5 curriculum pilot to begin second semester

Assistant Superintendent Mr. McMahon updated the board on district grant activity and instructional pilots during the Dec. 11 meeting.

Mr. McMahon said the district submitted a Section 99H robotics grant requesting $15,000 to support five robotics teams. The district also submitted a benchmark assessment grant (NWEA) application; McMahon said the funding model changed this year and that awards will be competitive and divided among applicants rather than a fixed per-student amount.

McMahon reported submission of the Section 41 bilingual report covering expenditures and carryover funds for bilingual services and the ARP Homeless II report accounting for approximately $16,000 in earthquake relief ARP funds that had been spent down by the August deadline. He also noted that board member training reimbursement paperwork was submitted and will cover nearly $1,000 in training costs.

On curriculum, McMahon said the district will pilot a new Young 5 curriculum called C4L, beginning second semester; three Young 5 teachers received training and district staff have ordered classroom materials. "We're looking forward to a fully, cohesive and integrated, aligned approach across the 3 classrooms," he said.

McMahon summarized that November was a heavy month for conferences and training and that topics included legislative updates about literacy bills, school improvement planning, MTSS intervention models and emerging uses of artificial intelligence in education.

Ending: No formal board action was taken; McMahon said staff will return with implementation details for the Young 5 pilot and with grant award notifications when available.