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Oceana High principal highlights senior exhibition, graduation and special‑education trends
Summary
Oceana High principal Maritza Torres told the board about school improvement work, a senior exhibition that earns every graduate a State Seal of Civic Engagement, rising A–G rates (~80%) and growing special‑education enrollment; trustees asked for subgroup follow‑up.
Maritza Torres, principal of Oceana High School, presented the school spotlight and highlighted recent gains and continuing challenges at the campus.
"Every Oceana graduate earns the State Seal of Civic Engagement due specifically to our senior exhibition project," Torres told the board, inviting trustees to observe the senior exhibition on March 27 and sign up as community evaluators. Torres said the school’s A–G completion rate has been above the state average and is currently about 80%.
Torres reviewed subgroup outcomes and cautioned that small absolute counts can make percentage changes appear large: last year, 17 of 22 students identified as Latino/Hispanic earned diplomas; 5 of 11 students counted as English learners and 61 of 68 socioeconomically disadvantaged students also graduated, she said. Torres described efforts to support students with disabilities, noting the district’s Extensive Support Needs (ESN) program and an increase in the proportion of students with IEPs from roughly 14% to 23% over recent years.
The principal described new course offerings, extracurricular expansions (a rock band class; 3‑D art), after‑school tutoring staffed by student tutors, theater upgrades and signage improvements to help campus navigation. Torres said the school has introduced a push‑in/pull‑out model in ninth and tenth grade science to support students with IEPs and is piloting additional supports focused on math for subgroups that need intervention.
Trustees thanked Torres for disaggregating data and asked for more detailed follow‑up on subgroup trends and intervention effects; the principal said some data (for example, math subgroup trends) will be available for later review. "We are trying to create a system where we're checking in with students and families regarding excessive absences," Torres said when asked about chronic absenteeism.
The board concluded the Oceana spotlight and invited Principal Torres to return to the board in the future.
