Board hears Naviance demo as counselors press for data tools; funding options discussed

The board received an information presentation on the Naviance college and career‑readiness platform and discussed how the tool could support counselors and families.

Director of Education Salgado introduced Jason Dolan of Naviance, who outlined the platform’s features: strengths and career interest inventories (including a Gallup‑based assessment), A–G tracking, course planning and forecasting, scholarship and college search tools, and reporting for counselors and administrators. Dolan said the system can surface student groups by aspiration, build course‑demand forecasts and send targeted communications to students and parents.

Counselor Anna Kavanaugh (public comment earlier in the meeting) described counselor caseloads and A–G readiness gaps and urged the board to adopt a platform that gives counselors data to find and support under‑served students. Trustees and staff raised implementation questions about training, SIS (ARIES) integration, single sign‑on, device availability, and how much staff time the rollout would require. District staff and Dolan described a consultant‑assisted rollout, online and embedded curriculum modules, and a local consultant to help with course catalog setup.

Board members asked about funding. The district is pursuing VC Innovates round‑2 funding and exploring LCAP, grant or district funds; Dr. Morse (county) is working with district staff on grant alignment. Trustees expressed support for Naviance as a tool to meet LCAP goals and to monitor A–G progress, while cautioning that implementation and ongoing funding must be planned.

There was no vote; administration said it will pursue grant options and return with funding proposals if a grant is not secured.