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District reports attendance recovery gains and drops in suspensions in LCAP update
Summary
In its annual Local Control and Accountability Plan update, La Mesa‑Spring Valley staff reported 2,330 students participated in an attendance-recovery program with 63% showing improved attendance, a districtwide 4% gain in informational-text comprehension over four years, and an estimated 26% drop in middle-school suspensions tied to site diversion programs.
La Mesa‑Spring Valley School District staff presented the annual update to the district's Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP), outlining instructional priorities, programmatic shifts and metrics showing progress on attendance and discipline.
The LCAP presenter (S20) described the district's three core goals: increase achievement, engage students and families, and maintain basic services. Staff said the district is in year two of a three-year plan and previewed work including a K–5 math adoption in preparation for next year, future English language arts planning, continued use of an early literacy screener and sustained professional learning for teachers.
On attendance recovery, district staff reported that 2,330 students participated in the program this year, that 63 percent of participants improved their attendance, and that the program produced 3,429 days of credited attendance toward Average Daily Attendance (ADA) recovery. The presenter described attendance recovery as flexible "chunks" of instructional time (for example, two-hour sessions) that can be credited toward a full day once minimum grade-level hours are met.
Board members asked how the program is staffed and how site-level variation is monitored. The presenter said staffing is a mix of classroom teachers, intervention staff and other positions funded creatively at sites; the district also uses data meetings with principals and cohorts of schools to identify what is working at particular sites. Regarding discipline, staff reported a roughly 26 percent decrease in suspensions at middle schools attributed to site diversion and ownership of restorative practices.
District presenters also noted a modest districtwide gain in comprehension of informational text: roughly a 4 percent increase over the past four years in the i-Ready diagnostic measure. Presenters acknowledged funding constraints: while local control funding is intended to provide flexibility, increasing categorical and one-time restricted funds has complicated alignment of goals and budgets.
Trustees praised the programs and asked for follow-up data at site level; one board member referenced a midyear summary that will be integrated with the final LCAP draft the board will review in June. The district plans to bring the draft LCAP to the first June meeting for adoption after final public input.
