SRVUSD presents social‑emotional and equity update showing modest test gains, rising unhoused student counts

Trustees at the San Ramon Valley Unified School District (SRVUSD) meeting heard an annual update on social‑emotional well‑being and equity from Director Dr. Hong Nu Yen and Coordinator Jessica Coulson.

Coulson opened by placing the work in context: the district’s enrollment has grown from roughly 20,000 to about 28,000 students and now includes a substantially higher share of students of color. She and Dr. Hong described district goals to create inclusive learning environments, address systemic inequities, and recruit and retain a more diverse staff.

The presenters cited assessment and well‑being data while identifying persistent subgroup gaps. Coulson said districtwide scores showed modest movement: when the district looked at recent CAST/CASP data “we did have an increase of 1% in each area,” and she described the district’s ELA and math efforts through targeted instruction. She also noted subgroup performance that remains lower than desired, with examples raised in the presentation including lower rates of meeting or exceeding standards for English learners and students with disabilities.

On student well‑being, Coulson highlighted Healthy Kids Survey trends that district staff regard as encouraging: chronic sad or hopeless feelings among 11th graders fell from near 29% (earlier year) to about 20% in the most recent administration, and measures of school connectedness rose. "That is a positive change," she said, describing a multi‑year trend the district continues to monitor.

Trustees pressed staff about the gap between subgroups and the broader student body. Board members asked what interventions were producing results; staff pointed to several site‑level strategies including responsive scheduling at high schools, targeted small‑group instruction (the WIN model), the COST (Coordination of Services Team) process to coordinate supports, and ‘focus school’ work that uses data to drive site improvement. Coulson said the COST process brings administrators, counselors, school psychologists, social workers and teachers together to tailor interventions after reviewing attendance, grades and anecdotal data.

District staff also noted increases in students experiencing housing instability: Coulson said the number of students identified as homeless had risen and that district social workers and site teams were intensifying supports; foster‑youth counts were described as roughly in the low teens. Trustees expressed concern about how budget reductions earlier in the year had affected counselors and social‑work capacity and how that could limit response options.

Presenters described several ongoing efforts: expansion of the School Links college‑and‑career platform, expansion of dual‑enrollment trades pathways with Diablo Valley College as facilities allow, and growth of peer‑advocate programs at some high schools that train students to provide non‑clinical peer support and to route higher‑need cases to counselors. Coulson described a planned playground calm zone and continued professional development intended to improve culturally responsive practices.

Why it matters: trustees said the update reinforced the district’s need to pair systemwide strategy with school‑level capacity. The conversation combined positive indicators on student survey trends with caution about persistent academic disparities and the operational strain of serving more unhoused and foster youth.

The board did not take any formal action on this item; staff said they will continue monitoring the data and refining site support strategies.