Fullerton Joint Union High School Board: (714) 870-2800 or http://www.fjuhsd.org

New Student Success Goals

Dr. Sylvia Kaufman, Assistant Superintendent of Education and Assessment Services, reported on the Fullerton Joint Union High School district’s professional development at the October 8 FJUHSD board meeting.

Supporting, Equipping, and Teaching, also known as SET, was the professional development program discussed. This program provides common districtwide goals for all FJUHSD teachers, helps them expand their instruction abilities, and provides greater mental health student support. For the past three years, it has trained teachers in learning recovery, trauma-informed training, and peer-to-peer review.

This year, Dr. Kaufman and her team used Carmine Gallo’s book, Five Stars, which focuses on the importance of persuasive communication as intrinsically necessary for being successful in a world increasingly infiltrated by AI, to reset the FJUHSD Education Services’ vision.

The new Education Services’ vision calls “To Inspire and Accelerate Learning within Our Education Environments wherein All Staff and Students feel Safe & Engaged in a Collaborative Culture Built on Trust.”

While leading with purpose and engaging both the hearts and minds of students and staff, they also reset student success goals. The FJUHSD’s elevated or “moonshot” goal is for a 5% increase in student CAASPP (California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress) test scores in English, mathematics, and science over the next three years. 80% of all students in the district will be considered college and career-ready as reflected in A-G requirements, a set of classes designated by California State University and the UC system showing competence for college-level learning and Career Technical Education pathway completion.

Education Services provided a lot of data on student population, graduation rates, mental wellness talks, and lowering suspension rates. The 2024 FJUHSD CAASPP results released on October 15 showed declines in both overall English and mathematics scores compared to 2023 but remained much higher than the state average. The achievement gap according to ethnicity showed little change between Hispanic English language and math scores between 2019 (pre-pandemic) and 2024. There was a small increase in Asian and white English language scores and a slight decrease in math scores.

To achieve the new goal, Dr. Kaufman said the district plans to implement five measures over three years with an annual review. First, FJUHSD teachers are launching collaborative learning environments that mesh special education students with general education environments.

Director of Education Dr. Joshua Potter, reported that the second measure adds the NWEA comprehensive test to 9th and 10th graders’ schedules. According to their website (http://www.nwea.org), this is a computer adaptive test, like the CAASPP test, which is only given to 11th graders. Each subject test takes between 45 and 60 minutes to complete, and NWEA does not recommend using the test to impact student grades or gauge individual academic understanding of subjects; it primarily helps teachers determine overall student academic understanding and creates familiarity with computer adaptive assessments.

Third, FJUHSD will increase career and college readiness by continuing to raise student completion rates of the a-g requirements and Career Technical Education pathways. The district will expand and enhance mental health wellness student assessment and services and, finally, increase English language learner family engagement.

Trustees Marilyn Buchi and Lauren Klatzker thanked Dr. Kaufman for the presentation. Trustee Klatzker commented that the La Sierra High School Adult Transition Program was not mentioned and deserved recognition since the 4-year program teaches qualified special education students life skills and career readiness for greater independence.

The Education Services team presented new goals, a multitude of data, new protocols and vision statements, and a list of actions to achieve these goals. Some of the goals are new, but some, like the A-G requirement success rate, are more than five years old. The measures to achieve the goals lacked details, and with no trustee questions, there was a lack of transparency regarding the usefulness of the last professional development process or the value of the new three-year plan.

This raises some questions such as:

• What are the projected outcomes for the new collaborative experience between Special Education and general education?
• What will the student-to-teacher ratios be, and which subjects will be taught collaboratively?
• Would it be beneficial for the project teachers to share this information, along with input from student board members?
• How frequently will the new NWEA assessment be administered to 9th and 10th graders, and how much instructional time will it consume?
• What value does the new test provide to students, beyond helping to improve CAASPP scores?
• Despite a decrease in district-wide suspensions, why are suspension rates for Hispanic students, English learners, and Students with Disabilities remaining high?

The answer to this question might indicate unintentional actions affecting specific populations.
• Does the SET training program address cultural diversity and unintentional bias?

Disproportionality issues have led students of color to be over-identified with learning disabilities and face harsher discipline. Data shows they have had the highest suspension rates and the lowest test scores over the past seven years. Without trustee inquiries, it’s unclear if the Education Services department recognizes these biases or how the upcoming three-year plan will improve academic outcomes.