Terra Nova principal: cell‑phone ban, co‑teaching and RTI tied to early drop in failures

Principal Carey told the Jefferson Union High School District Board of Trustees that Terra Nova’s semester‑long distraction‑free learning pilot, known on campus as Yonder, combined with expanded co‑teaching and a data‑driven RTI (response to intervention) team has produced early improvements in student behavior and achievement.

"The work is shared," Carey said, describing how co‑teaching lets teachers split preparation and in‑class duties so lessons run smoother and teachers can experiment with Universal Design for Learning strategies. Carey said students in co‑taught classes—particularly students with disabilities—have a higher chance of passing compared with counterparts in non‑co‑taught sections.

Carey described the RTI team as a small, twice‑monthly review of ninth‑ and tenth‑grade progress‑report grades, attendance and behavior indicators. "We're looking to triage students’ needs, and start connecting them to all the different supports," Carey said, adding that the team has used a pyramid of interventions developed by staff.

On Yonder, Carey said staff held multiple meetings, parent outreach and student orientations before launching a policy that removes personal devices during the school day and issues district Chromebooks as the permitted classroom device. "We ultimately took a stand… and it was ultimately unanimous where we were all in the same corner, voting for Yonder," Carey said, describing a full‑staff exercise that yielded strong staff support. The school distributed Yonder pouches and district Chromebooks and installed unlocking bases across campus to address safety concerns.

Students and trustees praised the approach in question‑and‑answer exchanges. A student speaker said the social culture on campus improved since implementation. One trustee urged more disaggregated data for Hispanic students, noting they report lower levels of school connectedness; another trustee said tracking the ninth‑ and tenth‑grade cohorts over time will be important to measuring long‑term impact.

Trustees and students also raised operational questions: whether Yonder consequence steps—detentions that escalate for repeat violations—would be extended to other behaviors and how to address Chromebook performance problems that some students reported. Carey said the administration has not adopted Yonder-style consequences for other issues and will survey students and work with technical staff (including Jake Meyer and Kareem Baca) to identify and fix Chromebook problems.

Carey said staff and a student 'e‑team' are also addressing equity concerns and hate speech through small experiments such as a student‑led zine and presentations. The principal said Terra Nova will continue to track outcomes and refine supports and that further data reporting to the board is expected.

The board did not take a formal vote on the Terra Nova presentation; trustees thanked Carey and asked staff to return with more targeted data on subgroup performance and follow‑up plans.