Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Performance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Gilroy Unified principals outline plans to boost attendance and expand targeted supports
Summary
Principals from multiple Gilroy Unified schools presented site plans stressing attendance, small-group instruction, targeted EL supports and student leadership programs; trustees pressed for measurable timelines and cross-school adoption of promising practices.
Several Gilroy Unified principals used the district's study session to outline school improvement plans that prioritize attendance, targeted interventions and stronger family engagement.
Anna Bennett, presenting GEKA'related results and goals, said the school's SPSA "serves as a roadmap for student success" and highlighted that the school's enrollment has stayed above 300 while 42% of students qualify for free and reduced-price lunch. Bennett told the board that "CASP ELA scores remain steady at nearly 100% of our students meeting or exceeding standards" and said the school is reporting strong AP results and recent gains for students identified as socioeconomically disadvantaged in math.
Trustees pressed for operational detail. Trustee Nelson asked about GEKA''s honors tribunal; Bennett said the peer-review body includes 10 students (sophomores through seniors) trained in restorative practices and serving as peer facilitators for behavior and community-building.
At Los Animos, the presenter (identified in the transcript as "Lesson Animous") reported a K— school population of about 800 students with roughly 44% identified as socioeconomically disadvantaged, 25% English learners and about 105 students with IEPs. The presenter said subgroup gains were visible in multiple grades and described a six-week intervention for level-3 EL students and afterschool options for lower-level ELs.
Luigia Prea principal Lisa Aggeria said the school's top priorities are attendance, culture and core instructional practices. "Number one is attendance. We know that students can't learn unless they're 'they show up," Aggeria told trustees, outlining daily intervention groups and a literacy facilitator role to systematize designated ELD.
Across presentations principals emphasized:
- Use of MTSS/attendance teams to monitor chronic absenteeism and to design tiered supports. - Expansion of small-group instruction, with attention to what non-group students do while teachers work with targeted groups. - Partnerships and programs to build student voice and leadership (GEKA''s senior project collaboration with Cal State Monterey Bay; student tribunals and mediator programs).
Trustees repeatedly asked how successful practices could be shared across sites and how the district could support principals with planning time, substitute coverage and CBO partnerships. District staff agreed to provide additional outcome data for community-based organizations and to circulate plans and timelines for cross-school implementation.
