Moreno Valley principals outline targeted steps to reduce suspensions and chronic absenteeism among identified student groups
Summary
Five schools presented data showing growth in some indicators but increases in suspensions for African American students; principals proposed actions including fidelity to PBIS, mentoring, targeted Tier 2/3 supports and family outreach. Sunny Meadows reported a 9.6% drop in chronic absenteeism.
District leaders and five school principals told the Moreno Valley Unified board that decreases in some indicators mask persistent disparities: suspension rates for African American students rose at several sites even as other student groups improved.
Doctor Arce (district instructional lead) introduced the multi-school presentation and said the district has seen overall improvement on the state dashboard, but singled out five schools — Hidden Springs, La Jolla, Ramona, Sunny Meadows and Mountain View — for focused review. Principals attributed elevated suspension rates to inconsistent implementation of PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports), limited early-intervention tier 2 strategies and leadership turnover at some sites.
Principals described concrete actions they have already implemented or plan to implement: Hidden Springs created supervised play zones and is expanding a mentor pool; La Jolla restarted a PTA and organized recurring family nights and the "patriot mentoring" program and daily check-ins by campus support aides; Ramona emphasized re-teaching PBIS expectations, targeted check-in/check-out and building belonging through clubs; Sunny Meadows credited home visits and tightened independent study processes with reducing chronic absenteeism by 9.6 percent; Mountain View cited after-school tutoring, math PLCs and a new "Wellness Wednesdays" pilot to reconnect students.
Trustees pressed principals on program fidelity, scalability and how successful strategies at one grade level might be replicated districtwide. Trustee comments emphasized mentorship, community involvement and the importance of stable site leadership; several trustees asked district staff to compile and share a repository of effective attendance and behavior strategies for wider use.
Why it matters: The presentation links classroom and campus-level behavior supports to broader district goals for equity and student achievement. Principals proposed a mix of short-term interventions (check-ins, family outreach) and longer-term investments (mentoring programs, staff professional development) to reduce suspensions and chronic absenteeism among targeted student groups.
What’s next: Principals will continue implementing the stated actions and return updated site-level data at future board meetings. District staff said they will support replication of effective practices across schools and develop reporting on outcomes tied to the actions discussed.
