Millbrae presents Year 1 LCAP revisions, reports gains for English learners and lower chronic absenteeism

Millbrae Elementary School District staff on Tuesday presented Year 1 revisions to the district’s three-year Local Control and Accountability Plan and reported measurable gains for English learners and declines in chronic absenteeism.

Catherine Wasliff, Director of Educational Services, told the Board of Trustees the updated LCAP includes revised actions, student outcomes and fidelity checks for tiered literacy supports. Wasliff said 65.5 percent of English learners made progress in 2023–24, “reflecting an 11.4 [percentage-point] increase from the previous year,” and that the district has moved to a blue rating for the English-learner metric on the state dashboard. She also reported that the district’s chronic absenteeism rate was 9.9 percent for 2023–24, a 1.8 percentage-point decline that moved that goal area into the dashboard’s green range.

Why it matters: the LCAP is the district’s primary plan for targeting state funding toward priorities such as literacy, academic achievement, family engagement and multilingual-learner support. The presentation outlined how the district will use revised actions, professional learning and budgeted expenditures to sustain and build on year‑one outcomes.

Wasliff framed four district goals: structured literacy based on the science of reading; standards‑aligned academic achievement; student engagement and reductions in chronic absenteeism; and expanded supports for multilingual learners. She said revisions include adopting the DIBELS literacy screener to replace FASTBridge, introducing tier‑1 fidelity checklists to guide intervention decisions, and expanding designated English‑language development and newcomer supports.

On assessments and outcomes, Wasliff said 64–65.39 percent of Millbrae students met or exceeded the English language arts standard, an increase of roughly 2.8 percentage points. She also described plans to implement Universal Design for Learning, calling it “a framework for access” that emphasizes engagement, representation and action and expression so classrooms reach a broader range of learners.

Trustees followed with substantive questions about how UDL professional development will be delivered and how tiered interventions (tier 1, tier 2, tier 3) will be distinguished in practice. Wasliff said the district purchased a package of county office supports and will launch the formal PD on Aug. 12 with ongoing coaching, site walk‑throughs and a trainer‑of‑trainers model so principals can use staff meeting time for follow-up.

Trustee discussion also addressed the performance of students with disabilities. Wasliff acknowledged a decline in that subgroup’s performance in math and described UDL and a new elementary math adoption as two strategies intended to improve access and outcomes for students with individualized needs. She noted specialized curricula and professional learning for the district’s SAI (Specially Designed Academic Instruction) staff will continue alongside general‑education UDL supports.

Wasliff described the district’s engagement process in developing the revised LCAP: site visits, parent coffees, staff meetings, school‑site council conversations and student surveys via the Panorama tool. She said the local indicators (the five locally reported items aligned to state priorities) showed strong results in basic services and implementation of standards, with targeted growth areas in parent engagement, professional learning and NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards) implementation.

The district budget figures shown in the LCAP slides were presented as context: total projected revenue by fund source near $33.2 million, with roughly $24–25 million from LCFF and about 10 percent of general‑fund expenditures budgeted through LCAP‑related actions. Wasliff and trustees emphasized that the LCAP is a working document to be revised annually.

The board did not adopt the LCAP at this meeting; staff indicated the LCAP and the proposed 2025–26 budget would return for board adoption at a scheduled June 17 meeting.

Ending: Wasliff closed by listing next steps—furthering UDL training, implementing fidelity checks for tiered instruction, and expanding family‑engagement workshops—so the district can build on the Year 1 outcomes reported to the board.