LCAP midyear: graduation rate edges up, chronic absenteeism and equity groups still lag

District staff presented a midyear update on the Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) on Feb. 25, reporting a mixed set of outcomes and describing how the district will target supports for student groups.

Presenters said the district's graduation rate rose to 89.9%, which places it in the state's green band for that metric. At the same time, chronic absenteeism remained elevated (staff reported about 25% chronically absent), and performance for some student groups—particularly African American and American Indian students—placed the district in the state's differentiated assistance category for certain priority areas. The college-and-career indicator was reported at about 37.2%.

Staff reviewed the state dashboard mechanics and explained that growth and proficiency are measured separately; they noted improvements in some measures while others stayed flat. The presenters also summarized midyear LCAP expenditures: roughly $15.7 million spent through midyear across goals, with action-level spending details reported for goal areas such as student-centered teaching, social-emotional wellness and staff development.

Trustees asked follow-up questions about how the college-and-career metric is calculated, whether waivers affected graduation numbers, and how investments in co-teaching and other strategies will be sustained amid budget reductions. Presenters said they will supply more detailed breakout data requested by trustees (for example, the extent to which waivers contributed to the graduation rate) and outline how LCAP-funded actions align with strategic goals and potential changes next year.

Staff also described targeted improvement categories (ATSI/TSI/CSI) and identified a small set of schools that continue to need higher-level intervention; trustees emphasized the need to preserve interventions that show measurable gains even while the district must enact budget reductions.