District presents 2025 California Dashboard, enrollment and facilities updates

District staff presented the Natomas Charter results from the 2025 California School Dashboard and related operational updates at the Dec. 8 meeting.

Laura Berrile walked the board through dashboard indicators: the district measured 36.5 points above standard in English language arts overall with notable subgroup growth (African American students gained 18.5 points; students with disabilities gained about 20 points). Math remains an area of focus ('yellow' status) with flat scores despite pockets of subgroup gains. Berrile highlighted improvement in English learner progress (back to 'blue' with 56.7% making progress in the English learner indicator), and said the college and career indicator recovered to about 80% prepared after correcting a prior data reporting error. She noted the graduation rate rose to 100% for the cohort and chronic absenteeism was low (3.1%), and cautioned that small subgroup sizes can make color assignments variable.

Executive Director Joe Wood presented enrollment figures as of Nov. 21 showing total district enrollment around 2,681 students with campus breakdowns provided. Facilities staff reported on the BlackRock remodel (DSA submittal for phases and potential 2027 ground breaking), Star Academy skylight replacement needs and a pending 2025 Charter Schools Facilities Grant application (decision expected in March) that would provide a 50% match for a six‑classroom project including TK classrooms and a visual arts room. The district also described phone/voIP upgrades and HVAC/control work planned across campuses.

Board members discussed dashboard color interpretation and the importance of digging into subgroup growth versus overall status when assessing performance.