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Principals tout academic gains, grants and student supports at Glendora Unified presentations
Summary
Principals from Southerntherland, Samberg and Wickcom presented data showing gains in assessment scores, lower absenteeism in some schools, new grants and program expansions — including a $1.2 million field/track grant and Samberg’s Green Ribbon School recognition.
At its Feb. 23 meeting the Glendora Unified School District board received multi-school presentations highlighting student achievement, attendance progress, counseling and restorative-practices efforts, and new or pending grants.
Southerntherland Elementary Principal Aaron Fish said the school is maintaining roughly 60–65% of students meeting or exceeding standards in English language arts and about 60% in math, reported chronic absenteeism at 7.4% and described work to target gaps for subgroups including students with disabilities and socioeconomically disadvantaged students. Fish emphasized family engagement, MTSS implementation and ongoing efforts to strengthen tiered supports.
Samberg Middle School Principal Marie Porcel and assistant principal Kristen Jelson presented growth on CASP and ELPAC measures: Porcel highlighted a 12% growth in eighth-grade math and a 12% growth for English learners on ELPAC. Samberg administrators also said targeted restorative-practices professional development and enhanced counseling supports helped reduce office referrals and shrink chronic absenteeism by about 3%. Porcel announced that Samberg was named a 2026 Green Ribbon School by the California Department of Education and said the campus is part of a project that has secured roughly $1.2 million in grant funding for improvements to the track and field area in collaboration with city partners and congressional staff.
Wickcom Principal Val Shabbat described the continuation/high-recovery campus’s progress, reporting a 14.2-percentage-point increase in graduation rate and steady declines in suspension rates and chronic absenteeism (reported at 59.7% in the transcript). Shabbat attributed gains to restorative practices, targeted interventions (including Lexia for literacy), expanded clubs and career/college exposure activities.
Board members praised the school teams, emphasized the district’s focus on both the academic and social-emotional needs of students and asked presenters to return with specifics when grants or program expansions require board-level approvals. Several trustees encouraged schools to seek community partnerships and local sponsor support as a supplement to district funds.
What happens next: District staff and school leaders will continue program implementation and provide follow-up to the board on grant timelines and any requests that require board action.
