Redwood City Elementary board reviews LCAP, weighs strategies to cut chronic absenteeism

The Redwood City Elementary School District Governing Board held a public hearing June 18 on the district’s Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) for 2024–27 and spent the evening reviewing student outcome data and intervention plans.

The presentation, opened by district staff at about 7:04 p.m., summarized three LCAP goals: reduce chronic absenteeism and suspension rates, accelerate outcomes for multilingual learners, and improve academic achievement in ELA and math. Staff noted trustees received an updated LCAP draft today alongside final budget work.

District presenters highlighted attendance as the most persistent challenge. The LCAP notes the district has 62% unduplicated pupils (students qualifying for targeted supplemental services) and that chronic absenteeism remains concentrated in specific subgroups: African-American students, English learners and students experiencing homelessness. Staff said the district missed its 2 percentage-point attendance improvement target for the year and is monitoring several cohorts (for example, about 404 English learners were identified for extra monitoring). To address the gap, staff described an outreach campaign, earlier family contacts in the fall, training to distinguish truancy from chronic absenteeism, and a planned grant-funded team to support re-engagement.

The presenter said the district has applied for a county re-engagement grant (called the CARE grant) that, if awarded, would allow the district to fund a coordinator to manage family outreach and re-engagement supports. Staff described an initial pilot concept for middle school students that would combine online learning with phased in-person attendance, family contracts and tutoring; staff emphasized the pilot would start small with a target group and be designed to bring students back onto the campus.

Trustees and staff also celebrated a major disciplinary improvement: suspensions declined sharply year-over-year (staff cited 149 students suspended in 2023–24 and an alternate calculation of 67), a change attributed to districtwide positive-behavior supports and trauma-informed practices. The district plans to expand trauma-informed teacher training to additional sites and continue PBIS, behavior specialists and school-based mental-health supports.

On multilingual learners, staff said long-term English-learner counts dropped and roughly 273 students are expected to be reclassified next year after resolving a handful of IEP holds. The district reported gains on ELPAC and internal measures but said growth is uneven across subgroups. Staff also said they are researching additional bilingual-language assessments (Spanish and Mandarin) to monitor students’ development in home languages.

Trustees asked staff to produce a more accessible, plain-language summary of the LCAP for families. Michelle Griffith, who oversees community school work, told trustees that parent-engagement efforts—including childcare and site-level family outreach—are being formalized and will roll out at community-school sites in August.

A parent and ELAC leader, Augustine, told the board that language barriers and low turnout at site meetings make district outreach difficult and urged stronger, targeted family engagement and attention to racial disparities in outcomes. “I’m here to say what the district is trying to do: to make sure those families attend and participate so the kids benefit,” Augustine said, adding a request that the district ensure supports for both advanced coursework and struggling students.

The board closed the public hearing and scheduled the LCAP for formal adoption at the next meeting after staff incorporate clarifications and lay-language edits. Officials said the document presented tonight is for review and public input only and that final adoption will occur when the board reconvenes.

What’s next: the board will consider adoption of the refined LCAP at its next scheduled meeting after staff post the updated version and translations for families.