Placentia‑Yorba Linda Unified School District trustees on Dec. 16 celebrated a Golden Bell Award for the district’s preschool inclusion initiative and heard a data briefing showing strong overall CAASPP results alongside deep subgroup gaps.

Jamie Nash, the district’s director of special education, accepted the board’s recognition of the award won in collaboration with partners including Orange County Head Start. Nash told the board the honor recognizes “innovative practices” that have made inclusive preschool a reality in PYLUSD and credited co‑teaching models and cross‑agency collaboration.

Later in the meeting, district data leads presented 2025 CAASPP (CAST/CAASPP) performance and new analysis tools available through Frontline. The presenters said the district’s percentage of students who met or exceeded standards was about 67.37% in English language arts and about 56% in math for 2025 — figures staff framed as roughly 20 percentage points higher than statewide averages.

“While most of our data is good, we have some work to do,” said Dr. Kim LeBlanc Esparza, the superintendent, adding that Frontline lets the district compare PYLUSD to demographically similar districts rather than relying on geographic neighbors for context. Mike Young, director of secondary education, walked trustees through grade‑level heat maps and explained the tool’s relative ranking method.

Presenters and trustees repeatedly emphasized that high overall performance can mask disparities: staff showed that PYLUSD ranks near the top among similar districts in overall indicators, yet gap analysis for 2024 revealed the district has among the larger achievement gaps in English language arts and math for low‑income students, English learners and students with disabilities. Staff summarized the district’s near‑term approach as early intervention and targeted professional development, noting mandatory training had been delivered for K–2 teachers on a reading‑risk screener while many other offerings remained voluntary.

Trustees asked for additional detail, including per‑grade percentages and comparisons with geographically adjacent districts. Dr. LeBlanc Esparza and presenters committed to follow‑up: “We will dig into the data and figure out why these students are not having the same educational experience,” she said. The board invited further data dives during the strategic‑planning process slated for the new year.

The meeting closed the presentation portion by inviting questions on training, implementation and metrics for measuring the impact of the district’s professional development work.

The Golden Bell recognition and the data briefing together set expectations for the district’s strategic plan: celebrate documented strengths while using targeted, data‑driven interventions to reduce achievement gaps.