Milpitas Unified presents 2025 CASP results; students, teachers credit mentoring and newcomer academy for gains

Milpitas Unified School District on Oct. 28 presented its 2025 CASP results and the district’s Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) approach, combining numerical cohort data with student testimony to explain where interventions appear to be working and where gaps remain.

District staff opened the study session by framing CASP as one evidence stream and promising to pair data with student narratives. Dr. Shannon Sosa, coordinator for English learners and math literacy interventions, described tiered supports and said the district will run two 10-week cycles of its newcomer academy this year. She said the newcomer program served about 170 students last year and that 36% of participants increased their ELPAC level by one to three levels over 12 weeks, a change staff said makes reclassification and grade‑level access more likely.

Kaml Gil, an MHS English teacher who served as a mentor, described the mentorships that paired certificated mentors with students for two hours a week. "Building that rapport was...to really figure out what their personality was like and where I could meet them," Gil said, describing targeted teacher outreach, emails to classroom teachers and advocacy that helped students turn in late work and rebuild confidence.

Three MHS students — Sophia Avala, Sarai Avala and Leah Caninda — told the board the mentorships were meaningful. "She would always tell us to meet every like two days or one day during lunch...she was really friendly and really nice. She was a really person of trust," one student said, describing how the mentor checked grades, encouraged work completion and advocated with teachers.

On district data, staff reported that students who participated in high‑impact tutoring programs (described as "airtutors") were more likely to achieve "stretch growth" on CASP than peers who did not participate; staff cited a 55% rate of more‑than‑typical growth for participating students versus a typical growth benchmark of a 47‑point scale increase. Presenters emphasized stronger relative gains for low‑income and Hispanic students and noted that 23% of EL participants in airtutors earned ELPAC level 4, a reclassification threshold.

Randall Elementary was highlighted as a school with notable math gains: staff said Randall posted roughly 14% growth in math and credited monthly professional learning communities (PLCs), use of fresh class‑level data, and daily small‑group instruction targeted by learners’ needs. "Our signature practice is in and around small‑group work," a Randall staff member told the board, describing daily check‑ins for students identified far behind grade level.

Directors also flagged persistent gaps. Michelle Sheer, director of special education and student services, showed subgroup results for students with disabilities and raised concerns that limited access to A–G or grade‑level coursework — for example, schedules that include double blocks of EL or non–A–G EL‑intro classes — makes it difficult for some students to meet grade‑level assessment metrics. "When students don't have access to grade‑level curriculum, it's really hard for them to meet those metrics," Sheer said.

Presenters recommended sustained investments in P–3 alignment and early childhood continuity to avoid loss of early gains, and they described steps the district is taking — piloting new math curriculum, embedding research‑based instructional strategies in Tier 1, expanding newcomer cycles, and using Panorama and SST practices to centralize attendance, behavior and climate data alongside academics.

The board did not take formal action in the study session portion; trustees praised Randall Elementary, thanked the students and staff who presented, and moved into the regular meeting agenda.