Category Archives: Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP)

On Vacaville Unified agenda: Kindness Challenge, governor’s budget, LCAP and accountability updates

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By Richard Bammer

A Kindness Challenge video contest, Gov. Jerry Brown’s 2017-18 state budget proposal, and an update on the district’s Local Control Accountability Plan and the state’s new school accountability system are on the agenda when Vacaville Unified trustees meet tonight in Vacaville.

Vacaville Supervisor John Vasquez and Solano County District Attorney Krishna Abrams will present information about the Kindness Challenge video contest, which asks students, through video, to illustrate positive behavior and show others the power that kindness can have on their school and community. Later in the evening, the board likely will pass a resolution to support the contest.

The presentation comes after a 2015 report, “Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance — United States,” and data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicated that nearly 8 percent of public school students in grades 9 to 12 during 2014 were in a physical fight on school property; 20 percent were bullied on school property; nearly 16 percent, the vast majority girls, were electronically bullied; and nearly 6 percent did not go to school because of safety concerns.

 

Source: On Vacaville Unified agenda: Kindness Challenge, governor’s budget, LCAP and accountability updates

State Board Approves California School Dashboard – Year 2017 (CA Dept of Education)

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The State Board of Education (SBE) today took the final steps in approving a landmark Accountability and Improvement System that will provide a wealth of new information to help parents, educators, and the public evaluate schools and districts, identify strengths and weaknesses, and provide targeted assistance.

Today’s actions pave the way for the system, called the California School Dashboard, to be unveiled to the public in late February or March. Next year several changes will be made to strengthen and improve the Dashboard for the 2017-18 school year when it will be fully operational.

“This completes the final pieces of a groundbreaking system to help the public better understand what is going on in our schools,” said California State Board of Education President Mike Kirst. “I look forward to the launch of the California School Dashboard later this year, but this is just the beginning. We plan to make significant improvements in future years.”

Kirst and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson thanked the California Department of Education (CDE) staff and educators throughout the state for their creativity and hard work in producing the California School Dashboard, which was years in the making.

Source: State Board Approves California School Dashboard – Year 2017 (CA Dept of Education)

State ed board OKs new school accountability system – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

The state’s new “report card” on schools will give parents another way to evaluate their child’s learning environment.

The State Board of Education formally approved what it is calling “a landmark accountability and improvement system” that will provide lots of new information to help parents, educators, and the public evaluate schools and districts, identify strengths and weaknesses, and provide targeted assistance.

Approved Wednesday in Sacramento, the action by the board paves the way for the California School Dashboard, years in the making, to be made public in late February or March. Next year, several changes will be made to strengthen and improve the Dashboard for the 2017-18 school year, when it will go into full effect, Peter Tira, a spokesman for the state Department of Education, noted in a press release.

Source: State ed board OKs new school accountability system

Accountability plan update on school board agenda – Benicia Herald

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By Nick Sestanovich

The Governing Board of the Benicia Unified School District will hear an update on the district’s progress toward goals listed in the 2016-2017 Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) at Thursday’s meeting. The discussion will be led by Leslie Beatson, assistant superintendent of educational services, and educational coordinator Jan Rogenski.

The LCAP serves as the district strategic plan and outlines goals of the district. It also works to insure increased services and programs for BUSD’s English learning, economically disadvantaged, foster youth and homeless students. According to Beatson and Rogenski, 4,760 students are enrolled in LCAP programs and the plan has been able to fund $8,045 per student in 2016-17.

Coordinators are predicting the number to go up to $8,530 in 2020.The presentation will also review progress toward the LCAP’s goals, which are to support the needs of alls students for college and career readiness, modernizing and improving infrastructure to provide opportunities for 21st century learning, and increasing community and parental involvement through awareness and engagement. Additionally, it will provide information on the new accountability rubrics and tools that have been adopted by the State Board of Education.

Source: Accountability plan update on school board agenda

School board OKs achievement plans for middle, high schools – Benicia Herald

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By Nick Sestanovich

The Governing Board of the Benicia Unified School District unanimously voted to approve the Single Plans for Student Achievement (SPSA) at Thursday’s meeting.The SPSA is established by school site councils to develop goals, aligned to BUSD’s Local Control Accountability Plan, which would support the academic performance of all students. At the high school level, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) goals act as the SPSA, with the goals and actions updated each year to represent continuous growth cycles. Each site team studies state and local measures to gauge progress and put together plans that represent the uniqueness of each school.

Benicia Middle School

Damian Scott, the principal of Benicia Middle School, was the first to present. The first two goals were to increase literacy and math proficiency respectively by 10 percent. The previous year, literacy proficiency had decreased by 5 percent, but math had remained consistent. In terms of other goals from the 2015-2016 school year, Scott noted that BMS saw a 59 percent decrease in suspensions and a 53 percent decrease in incidents. It also met its goal of using technology to promote 21st century learning by having two Chromebooks per every one student and allowing all professional learning opportunities to have a technology focus.

Source: School board OKs achievement plans for middle, high schools

Finally, districts’ accountability plans may be easier to read and use | EdSource

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By John Fensterwald

For three years, school districts have been writing an annual budget and accountability plan using a state-dictated form that has irritated just about everyone writing and reading it. Next week, the State Board of Education is expected to approve a new version that promises to be simpler, better organized and easier to follow.

The revised Local Control and Accountability Plan, or LCAP (see draft template starting page 7), has gotten generally positive reviews, with some reservations, from school officials and advocates for high-needs students who disagree over how much information should be in the document but credit state board staff for trying to strike a balance.

“We are not completely satisfied, but we will support the revised LCAP,” said Martha Alvarez, legislative advocate for the Association of California School Administrators, which had recommended changes through months of hearings and drafts. Districts’ LCAPs had mushroomed to dozens, and in some cases hundreds, of pages over the past three years. It’s unclear, she said, despite improved readability, whether LCAPs will become shorter or longer under the new template. “At this point, districts need time – a number of years without further changes – to work with it,” she said.

Source: Finally, districts’ accountability plans may be easier to read and use | EdSource

School board to hear elementary school student achievement plans at Thursday’s meeting – Benicia Herald

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By Nick Sestanovich

The Governing Board of the Benicia Unified School District will vote to approve the Single Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA) for each of the site’s four elementary schools at Thursday’s meeting.

The SPSA is established by school site councils to develop goals, aligned to BUSD’s Local Control Accountability Plan, which would support the academic performance of all students. Each site team studies state and local measures to gauge progress and put together plans that represent the uniqueness of each school. The principals of each of Benicia’s elementary schools will present their plans to the school board, just as they did last year.

In its SPSA, Mary Farmar Elementary Principal Wendy Smith outlined the school’s vision and mission statement, which was to “provide a safe, stimulating learning environment in which all children will learn and prepare for the opportunity to attend college if they choose. They will develop a respect for themselves and others with sensitivity to, and appreciation for, cultural and individual diversities.”

Source: School board to hear elementary school student achievement plans at Thursday’s meeting

School board hears LCAP update at Thursday’s meeting – Benicia Herald

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by Nick Sestanovich

Trustees of the Benicia Unified School District heard an update on the second goal for BUSD’s Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP), which includes modernizing instruction and infrastructure, at Thursday’s school board meeting.

The LCAP is a plan that is required by all public schools in California to receive funding provided through the Local Control Funding Formula, which was signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown in 2013. The LCAP outlines three goals, the first of which is to create a team of engaged staff to support the success of all students so they are ready for college and careers. Ruben Fernandez, the director of technology, gave an overview on the second goal which was to “modernize and improve infrastructure to provide a learning environment that offers opportunities for 21st century teaching and learning.”

Source: School board hears LCAP update at Thursday’s meeting

BUSD student surveys indicate mixed results – Benicia Herald

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By Nick Sestanovich

Carolyn Patton, the special services director for Benicia Unified School District, provided an overview of the results of the California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS) as well as the Relationships, Effort, Aspirations, Cognitions, Heart (REACH) survey— which were both administered to district students— at Thursday’s school board meeting.CHKS is a statewide survey given to all seventh, ninth and 11th-graders as well as all Liberty High School students every two years which captures behavioral data in the areas of substance abuse, school safety, social/emotional wellness and student/teacher relations.

The REACH survey was issued for the first time last year to all BUSD students in grades 6 through 12 and further examines the relationships between students and teachers and identifies internal assets known to increase achievement. The surveys are aligned to LCAP goals of preparing students for college and careers and increasing parental awareness of what happens at school, and a superintendent goal of promoting safe and welcoming schools.

Source: BUSD student surveys indicate mixed results

Travis Unified leaders expected to OK 2016-17 budget, LCAP – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

Travis Unified leaders, when they meet tonight, are expected to approve the school district’s $54.5 million proposed budget for 2016-17 and its accompanying Local Control Accountability Plan, or LCAP.

An LCAP, or Local Control Accountability Plan and a key part of Gov. Jerry Brown’s Local Control Funding Formula, is essentially a school district’s guide on how it will spend its money on programs that largely affect “unduplicated” students, that is, English language learners, low-income children, ethnic minorities, and foster youth.

Both documents must be submitted to the Solano County Office of Education by 5 p.m. Thursday, as required by law.

At their June 14 meeting, trustees heard newly hired Chief Business Officer Jamie Metcalf lay out, in a slide presentation, the proposed budget, with $1.7 million in deficit spending and an ending balance of $3.4 million. She noted that state officials predict slower growth this year and for the next two outlying years, which likely will mean hiring freezes.

 

Source: Travis Unified leaders expected to OK 2016-17 budget, LCAP

LCAP, 2016-17 budget, Measure J process await FSUSD trustees – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

After previous public hearings, the seven-member governing board is expected to approve the LCAP, or Local Control Accountability Plan, a key part of Gov. Brown’s Local Control Funding Formula. Essentially, it guides how the 21,000-student district, the county’s largest, will spend its money, particularly for programs that affect “unduplicated” students, that is, English language learners, minorities and foster youth.

The board, likewise, is expected to approve a $210 million budget for the coming academic year, with $4.6 million in deficit spending, an ending balance of $4.2 million, and $7.9 million in prudent reserves.

Measure J, a $249 million bond, passed on June 7, approved by more than 56 percent of those who cast ballots during the California Primary.

 

Source: LCAP, 2016-17 budget, Measure J process await FSUSD trustees

Bond measure, trustee election, LCAP, budget on DUSD agenda tonight – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

Dixon Unified leaders, when they meet tonight, will gear up to prepare for a November election school bond measure, officially note that three of five trustee seats are on the fall ballot, and hold public hearings on the 2016-17 budget and the LCAP.

Superintendent Brian Dolan will lead the discussion before trustees vote to authorize to prepare a general obligation bond for the 3,500-student rural district.

“We want to be clear with the community and officially go on record” about the board’s intentions to move forward with the bond measure, project to be “in the neighborhood of $30 to $34 million,” he said Wednesday.

He said once the matter is approved at Thursday’s meeting, trustees will vote on it at their Aug. 4 meeting, in order to meet county Registrar of Voters requirements.

 

Source: Bond measure, trustee election, LCAP, budget on DUSD agenda tonight

VUSD leaders to hear charter school petition, approve LCAPs, 2016-17 budget – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

A public hearing for a proposed Independent Study charter school, routine approvals of several LCAPs and the 2016-17 budget are on the agenda tonight for Vacaville Unified’s governing board members.

Manolo Garcia, currently Markham Elementary principal and newly named as director of the school district’s Independent Study program, will offer information about the IS program, as it’s called for short, that, in the coming months, will be housed at 1949 Peabody Road. Independent Study is an alternative way of learning, in which a student is guided by a teacher but usually does not take classes with other students every day.

The school’s charter likely will be approved by the seven-member board during a July meeting, Garcia said Wednesday.

 

Source: VUSD leaders to hear charter school petition, approve LCAPs, 2016-17 budget

Budget, LCAP on TUSD agenda – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

The 2016-17 budget and the school district’s LCAP are on the agenda when Travis Unified leaders meet tonight in Fairfield.

Trustees are expected to approve a $54 million budget, one that exceeds revenues by $1.7 million, with an ending balance of $3.4 million.

Ken Forrest, the chief business officer, and Jamie Metcalf, the incoming CBO, will make the presentation after a public hearing.

The board also likely will approve the district’s Local Control Accountability Plan, or LCAP, the document that guides virtually all of the district’s spending, especially for programs that affect ethnic minorities, low-income students and foster youth.

via: Budget, LCAP on TUSD Agenda, The Reporter

New budget, several LCAPs, charter renewals on VUSD agenda tonight – Daily Republic

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By Richard Bammer

A presentation about the 2016-17 district budget, several LCAPs, and a public hearing on charter renewals for a pair of charter schools are on the agenda when Vacaville Unified leaders meet tonight in Vacaville.

Like other California school district trustees will this month, Vacaville’s seven-member governing board will hear a dollars-and-cents report from its chief business official.

Deo Persaud will tell the board that the district will spend $108.5 million in the coming academic year, with revenues of $107.9 million, creating nearly $660,000 in red ink. The ending balance is expected to be $16.5 million, with 14 percent of the budget in prudent reserves.

While that figure, a little more than $15 million, including 3 percent for economic uncertainties, may seem like a large amount, Persaud, at previous board meetings, has projected that the 12,300-student district will face increased deficit spending in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 years as expenses exceed revenues.

 

Source: New budget, several LCAPs, charter renewals on VUSD agenda tonight

Kairos board to seat new trustee, hear updates on home-schooling, LCAP – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

Seating a new trustee, and updates on a new home-school program and the Local Control Accountability Plan are on the agenda when the Kairos governing board meets tonight in Vacaville.

Among the first orders of business will be the likely seating of a new trustee, Ginger Holguin of Vacaville, the director of operations for an Inglewood dental firm. She will replace Ron Mitchell, who cited work conflicts upon the taking of a new job, said Jared Austin, co-founder and executive director of Kairos Public School Vacaville Academy, the full name of the TK-8 independent charter housed in the old Elm Elementary campus.

In her letter to Austin expressing her interest to serve, Holguin, the mother of three, including a first-grader at Kairos, cited her work on several local boards. She was one of three people who applied for the vacant trustee seat, Austin said Monday.

Source: Kairos board to seat new trustee, hear updates on home-schooling, LCAP

In TUSD, parental involvement is a major focus of the LCAP – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

Travis Unified leaders, when they gather tonight in Fairfield for a special governing board meeting and workshop, will hear from a district official about the importance of parental involvement in their children’s academic life.

Parental involvement will be a “major focus” of the district’s Local Control Accountability Plan through 2019, Sue Brothers, assistant superintendent for student learning and educational services in the 5,100-student district, wrote in an email to The Reporter late Monday.

Among the changes to the LCAP — basically, the document that typically guides all of a California school district’s spending under Gov. Jerry Brown’s Local Control Funding Formula — will be the addition of the Parent Project and Parent Project Jr. training next year.

Source: In TUSD, parental involvement is a major focus of the LCAP

VUSD leaders hear update to LCAP – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

In his latest update on the Local Control Accountability Plan, or LCAP, Mark Frazier told Vacaville Unified trustees that plans are to hire five full-time elementary science/physical education teachers.

As the school district’s chief academic officer, he delivered the news during Thursday’s governing board meeting in the Educational Services Center.

It comes after two straight years of results showing Vacaville Unified students lag behind state averages on physical fitness tests, with an increasing number of students tested — in fifth, seventh and ninth grades — failing to meet “healthy fitness zone” performance standards that would be a hedge against worrisome medical conditions such as obesity and diabetes.

Source: VUSD leaders hear update to LCAP

VUSD leaders hear LCAP update – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

Vacaville Unified leaders heard the latest update on the school district’s Local Control Accountability Plan, with administrators telling trustees to keep one key thing in mind: As the district receives more money from the state of California, school officials are required to increase services to “unduplicated” students, that is, those who are English learners, poor or foster youths.

As part of Thursday’s regular governing board meeting, Superintendent Jane Shamieh and Mark Frazier presented the latest LCAP proposal, the document that typically guides all of a school district’s spending under Gov. Jerry Brown’s Local Control Funding Formula.

Under the district’s 2016-17 plan — which must be submitted to county and state officials, along with a new budget, by June 30 — there are several goals. They include, Frazier noted, 1) Providing an education that prepares students for college or a career, “with academic interventions in place to eliminate barriers to student success”; 2) Placing into effect “systemic changes” to reduce the so-called “achievement gap,” usually understood to be standardized testing disparities between minorities and primarily white students; and 3) Ensuring that all schools have “safe, welcoming, healthy and inclusive climates” for all students and their families, “so that all students are in their classes ready to learn.”

Source: VUSD leaders hear LCAP update

Survey Improve Local Control and Accountability – Year 2016 (CA Dept of Education)

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State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson today announced a new online survey to improve local educational agencies’ three-year plans to improve student achievement.

Knows as Local Control and Accountability Plans (LCAPs), these are key tools for establishing goals to improve student outcomes and to align spending decisions with those goals.

The survey will let anyone who is interested – students, parents, educators, community members and others – help make the plans easier to use, understand, and review. The survey will be open until 5 p.m. March 25, Torlakson announced at the State Board of Education’s (SBE) March meeting. The SBE will be considering input from stakeholders about how to improve the LCAP template this fall.

“The LCAPs should allow everyone to find out how well their local school district is doing,” Torlakson said. “The system is new and still evolving. Please use the survey and we can work together to make the system better.”

Source: Survey Improve Local Control and Accountability – Year 2016 (CA Dept of Education)