May 10, 2017 Board of Trustees Meeting Agenda Item #34

This article was not properly formatted for the Patch - the full article can be read at this link: https://cusdwatch.com/index.ph...

Presentation by Dr. Susan Holiday

1) Removal of adult education content

2) Addition of transfer language - Foster Care and homeless students

3) Options other than CUSD - Internal options through CalPrep

4) Error on Serra Column

Staff is recommending one more year so we can review metrics, we are also studying impacted student profile to give impacted students greater flexibility.

PUBLIC COMMENTS

Blue Card: Lisa Gaspar (CCP Teacher) Board Audio at 2:32:39

Quoted Trustee McNicholas's Teacher Appreciation Letter.

All students shared powerpoint presentations about a 2-year college or tech school that they would like to attend. In the coming weeks they will share for part of their final the 4- year college they would like to attend.

Building on a 4-year plan with our academic advisors included a-g coursework requirements. We also looked into local and global organizations to be involved in. We also looked at other CTE courses that may be of interest to students like video production. We also discussed the possibilities of dual enrollment in a 2 -year and 4-year college or institution.

Our students love this class. We love teaching it. If we eliminate this class where will they get it? Also for 2-way students we can embed this class into Spanish . They need spanish speaking skills for both Health and CCP not just academic.

For those Board members who are not on board - please consider keeping CCP/Health.

Blue Card: Kent Baker (CCP Teacher 11 years) Board Audio at 2:36:01

Time management is one of the things most high school students feel they need instruction in.

Because we teach these kids a year long course, we get to know these students better than academic advisors and can advise them on more than just statistics.

Snap Shot of my students:

They have no idea what they want to be when they grow up.

They cannot type more than 30 words a minutes,

They cannot read the analog clock on the wall,

and they cannot spell the word college.

If students have an idea of what they may want to study - they have little if any idea of the high school classes they need to take to finish prepared for that degree. Counselors have been replaced by Academic Advisors and CCP Staff. Eliminating this class would do a disservice to students. This class is not burdensome to a student who does not fail a class.

If the CUSD a-g completion rate is 54% than this is above the bachelor degree holders in Mission Viejo by 8% in San Juan Capistrano by 19% and California by 22%. I would argue that there is a correlation between the a-g completion rates for our students and their parents college education. If CUSD wants more than that then we need to keep CCP so that more students get this information.

Blue Card: Dawn Urbanek Board Audio at 2:38:18

Dawn Urbanek left the meeting and did not speak.

(Taxpayer Advocate who had made a Citizens Request to discuss this Item at the June 7, 2017 BOT Meeting - which was granted by CUSD prior to Staff scheduling this Item). I left the meeting in disgust at an organization who has utter disregard for public in-put which is why Staff was asking Trustees to vote to keep CCP/Health one more year PRIOR to the Public Discussion on June 7, 2017 and who spent most of this Board meeting discussing how to limit Public discussion at Board meetings.) There is NO POINT IN ANY MEMBER FROM THE PUBLIC SPEAKING AT THESE MEETINGS. THEIR VOICE IS NEVER HEARD OR CONSIDERED, AS WAS EVIDENCED BY STAFF PLACING THIS ITEM ON THE AGENDA PRIOR TO THE JUNE 7, 2017 MEETING.

Blue Card: Lora Harvey Board Audio at 2:38:18 (CCP Teacher)

Here to advocate CCP/Health as graduation requirements. All HS principals implore you to keep this class. With increased flexibility all students should have no trouble with impacted schedules. The biggest complaint I have heard from people is impacted schedules which make it hard to take CCP/Health and all the AP/ a-g classes needed to be competitive to get into todays colleges.

She named three students who were "Scholars of Scholars" attending Berkeley and Harvard. I am honored to teach CCP and know CUSD students need these classes. I taught Rajj Conbaret who is hear tonight to advocate for CCP/Health.

Blue Card: Rajj Gonbaret Board Audio at 2:41:40 (CUSD Senior who will be attending Harvard)

Failing to take CCP/Health during High School would have been devastating to his college trajectory because I would never have taken CCP- I would have taken other electives. According to the American Psychological association 45% of high school students suffer from chronic stress due to school work. How are we going to have high school students deal with that stress if we do not have a class that teaches strategies for dealing with this stress. Over 1/2 of my friends suffer from anxiety and depression. I have been on one to many calls from friends who threaten suicide. If it wasn't for health I would not have known to call their parents. CCP has taught me how to write a resume, how to write a letter how to type. Because of CCP I changed my career trajectory completely. I wanted to student engineering at UCLA and now I will be studying government at Harvard. Health helped me understand the signs of anorexia in my best friend and that my urge to throw up after meals was not the way to loose weight but an early sign of bulimia. Because of CCP I was able to change my career. We need these classes to be a support system for students.

TRUSTEE COMMENTS

Board Audio at 2:44:50 Trustee McNicholas

We have been discussing this since 2015, we are still in a process of evaluation and even if we wanted to end CCP/Health as a graduation requirement we could not do it for this coming year. Staff needs time to put metrics together, we have made it easier for students to take CCP/Health. We have implemented flexibility for students. We have fabulous teachers doing a fabulous job. I want to make sure that we take full advantage of our Cal Prep Opportunities. There is a NEW REVISION back on the table...

Board Audio at 2:46:20 Superintendent Vital

We made some changes to the Board Policy (Redlined copies are here at the back of the room and have been passed out to everyone) We sent an e-mail and passed them out here.

Superintendent Vital then references the potential Brown Act Violation.

Kristen Vital should know that revisions cannot be made at a Board Meeting- the agenda must be posted 72 hours PRIOR to the scheduled meeting.

Board Audio at 2:44:50 Trustee McNicholas

What was added at the meeting was a specific paragraph shown below in red underline:

This language offers flexibility for students without opening the flood gates to take any and all courses outside CUSD. We have talked about online platforms like Haiku which put things under CUSD control better than an off-the-shelf platform. I would love to see us develop our own online platform going forward.

Board Audio at 2:48:05 Dr. Susan Holiday

Staff would need direction on that because of time and and staff requirement would be a substantial investment to make a really great interactive online class. We want to make sure it is a wise investment.

Board Audio at 2:48:28 Superintendent Vital

We should land on that. What I heard at the Board Workshop was that a majority of the Board wanted that kind of class- and really take advantage of Cal Prep. We should clarify that and then on the record clarify when we will have the metrics for CCP and deadlines.

Board Audio at 2:48:48 Dr. Susan Holiday

The metrics (a snap shot) will be shared at the May 17, 2017 Board Workshop, and then we will come back in January 2018 with a profile of students with impacted schedules. The 3rd piece would be creating our own online CCP course. We are happy to do that if we make sure it is a wise investment.

Board Audio at 2:49:33 Trustee McNicholas

Yes- we want to take advantage of our expert CCP Teachers.

Board Audio at 2:49:49 Trustee Hatton-Hodson

Lynn has two kids and she ran Princeton review so I understands what people learn in CCP. Her children also took health online and that was not a great experience. They would have benefited from a real health class. I know many many districts have come here to visit to see what we are doing with CCCP. They come here so that they can capture what we are doing because nothing replaces a great CCP Teacher in the classroom. That is not always the case, and the on-line program is not that great. Because CUSD does not have the metrics; we cannot determine at this time, whether or not CCP should be a graduation requirement or not. We need first to determine if we meet the metrics. It is to early to eliminate CCP as a graduation requirement. We need to make decisions baed on data.

Board Audio at 2:49:37 Trustee McNicholas

Even if we decided today to get rid of CCP we could not get rid of it for this coming year. We can talk about it, but we can't actually do it. Even if we decided today to get rid of CCP as a requirement, not as an elective, because kids really need that class. It would put the advisor in the position of saying a student had to take the class.

Board Audio at 2:51:57 Trustee Hatton-Hodson

I cannot be in support of taking CCP off as a graduation requirement. Voting on this tonight takes this off as a graduation requirement.

Board Audio at 2:52:22 Trustee Reardon

It does not which is why I was wondering why we are tallking about this?

Board Audio at 2:52:27 Superintendent Vital

What we are talking about is the guidance you gave us at the last workshop.

Step 1: Minor language changes in the policy.

Step 2: The Cal Prep Piece - greater flexibility

Step 3: It was voiced that you still wanted to have a conversation about CCP and health because we did not present the metrics. That was the agreement we made. We need to make sure that we close the loop on that. We want to set real explicit deadlines so that we can bring back specific metrics on CCP by specific deadlines so that you can decide if it is a graduation requirement or an elective in time to make a decision for change for the following year. You going to see a snapshot for next week and then in January you will see full data.

Board Audio at 2:53:38 Dr. Susan Holiday

We have 3 criteria that we will be sharing with the Board at the net workshop.

1) Interim Common Assessments

2) Student Survey of current CCP students

3) Senior Survey 2017 Graduates

Board Audio at 2:54:45 Trustee Reardon

The Policy that staff is asking us to adopt tonight does NOT eliminate CCP, it does add flexibility.

Board Audio at 2:54:55 Trustee Jones

This is a first reading anyway.

Board Audio at 2:54:56 Trustee Reardon

It does say Action?

Board Audio at 2:55:01 Superintendent Vital

We often put "Action" on First Readings to give the Board flexibility to take action just in case. You may take action, but we are not expecting you to.

Board Audio at 2:55:10 Trustee Reardon

I think the text of this probably signaled something to the Public that maybe was not intentional. The Item states that there will be a discussion on the reconsideration of CCP and Health as a high school graduation requirement.

Staff was giving Trustees another opportunity to discuss this. Where we have to do better is defining these metrics and then having a timeline where we allows the Board to make a determination for the following year. In January 2018 staff will be making a presentation to the board of the data and then Trustees can decide to keep it as a graduation requirement or not.

Board Audio at 2:56:25 Trustee Hatton-Hodson

The question is did the CCP Teachers help share in what the metrics should be? Were they involved at all?

Board Audio at 2:56:45 Dr Susan Holiday

Dr. Polly Napotmus was the Administrator leading the CCP/Health committee.

Board Audio at 2:57:25 Trustee Hatton-Hodson

Two things- if the Board determines that this should be an elective and not a requirement, it will be the end of the class- just so you understand that. Be careful with that equity piece - there are kids that really need this and how do you call them out - watch equity.

Board Audio at 2:57:34 Superintendent Vital

Dr. Holiday I would like to go back. The last time we met, I thought the meetings with CCP had ended so I want to go back and make sure that CCP teachers have been engaged at all in these metrics? I thought that these CCP meetings were done and now I want to make sure that the CCP teachers were engaged. If teachers were not engaged, we need to go back and see how we plan to do that.

Board Audio at 2:57:59 Mr. Patterson

One of the major discussions of the Principal meetings was to discuss metrics that could be put into place to determine the efficacy of the course itself. The only true way to measure that was to do long term longitudinal study. We knew that was not feasible given direction of the Board. The other metrics we landed on were the CIA which measures the content, bit not the effect. So we decided to embed questions regarding all classes students were taking.

Board Audio at 2:60:02 Superintendent Vital

So did we engage the CCP teachers in defining the metrics?

Board Audio at 2:60:03 Mr. Patterson

No

Board Audio at 2:60:07 Superintendent Vital

So we need to go back and engage teachers. I know you are trying to present information around a specific deadline, but we need to go back and engage them. We need to complete this in the first semester.

Board Audio at 2:60:39 Trustee McNicholas

Right now we are basing this information on a lot of ancedotal information like Rajj coming tonight to share his perspective.

Board Audio at 2:60:46 Superintendent Vital

We will have surveys from every 9th grader and every 12th grader about what kids think about this course and still be able to present data by January.

Board Audio at 2:61:12 Trustee Jones

Regarding Transfer students, I would like to exempt migrant students and military students.

There is a lot of stuff we don't teach that we should be adding like debate , micro-soft office etc.

The most common summer school classes are CCP/Health and that is probably not going to change. They will keep doing that. We will not be able to change that. Everything is not the same for all kids. We need to recognize this.

Trustee Jones spoke with the Tesoro WASC team regarding A-G completion rates. Tesoro has the lowest A-G completion rate in the district.

Fact Check Tesoro has the highest A-G Completion Rate in CUSD at 64.8% http://data1.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/DistGrad.asp?cSelect=30664640106765--Capistrano+Connections+Academy&cChoice=DstGrdEth2&cYear=2015-16&cLevel=District&cTopic=Graduates&myTimeFrame=S&submit1=Submit

Aliso Niguel: 55%

Capo Valley: 62.3%

Dana Hills: 62.2%

San Clemente: 58%

San Juan Hills: 56.5%

Tesoro: 64.8%

Almost every student in Tesoro goes to college - a 4-year college because it is a very affluent school in our District. They found that the vast majority of those students that did not complete their A-G were going to a private school, or an out of state school. We also have a lot of LDS students who will go to BYU and they do not require A-G.

Fact Check: Does BYU have A-G requirements? Yes they do. They may make an exception for LDS students but they do list A-G as recommended course requirements.

Source: https://admissions.byu.edu/acc...

A quote from Trustee Jones: "The State wants to make everyone A-G ... well that is their problem."

We need to recognize that some kids are not completing their A-G because they are going to Stanford like RAZ here.

Fact Check: Razz is going to go to Harvard - not Stanford.

Stanford has A-G requirements:

Source: http://admission.stanford.edu/basics/selection/prepare.html

Harvard also has A-G Course Requirements:

Students that want to go to a 4-year college need to complete A-G courses in High School (PERIOD).

TRUSTEES JONES AND MC NICHOLAS BOTH THINK THAT PRIVATE SCHOOLS AND OUT OF STATE SCHOOLS AND SCHOOLS THAT CATER TO LDS STUDENTS DO NOT HAVE A-G COURSE REQUIREMENTS.

Why did Superintendent Vital remain silent and not correct this false belief? She works for the Board and should never allow them to assume incorrect information?

One size does not fit all - we need to offer more classes like Micro-soft office, personal finance etc.

Board Audio at 3:07:23 Trustee Hannacek

We have increased our graduation rate. Is there a direct correlation between CCP and the increase in our graduation rate.

NOTE: CUSD's graduation rate increased because they lowered their pass rate from a "C" to a "D". Now more students can graduate.

Cal Poly requires students (Juniors/Seniors) take a CCP like course.

Amazing Article in Course Magazine. A study Hack that lifts "B+" students to "A" students. This would be great for CCP

Finally- I don't think we should work on our own online program until Trustees give the thumbs up.

Board Audio at 3:09:20 Trustee Hattson-Hodson

If you ask most parents what they want expect of our graduating seniors most would say they want their kids to go to college. While a broad curriculum is fun and interesting, kids need to take classes that get them into college.

Board Audio at 3:10:23 Trustee Pritchard

I do not think it is good enough for a District to simply get a kid into college. The National metric is did they graduate college. 40% of students who currently enter Cal State are 3-4 classes under prepared. They do not even take college level work until sophomore year and most of them actually drop out. That is the reality of most of the students in the State of California. College and Career Planning may be nice- but if you need data the Clearing House has data on every class taken anywhere.

Our goal should not be to get kids into college, we should prepare them to finish college. If students are so underprepared that they get into college and drop out then we haven't done our job. Our promise to parents is that education will get their kids to a better financial place than they currently are. They will be socioeconomically better off.

Board Audio at 3:12:37 Trustee McNicholas

A couple of items not related to CCP:

The section about secondary high school credits page 5 of 9 does this include Cal Prep and we answered that by adding the new paragraph.

and

on page 6 why did we add "district does not offer the course". I am thinking about all the classes students currently take at Halstrom or University of Michigan and any place else.

Board Audio at 3:13:59 Dr Susan Holiday

The goal is to provide students with flexibility, but to ensure that the flexibility is through our online courses rather than a Halstrom or a Michigan. This is a bit of a grey area.

Board Audio at 3:14:26 Trustee McNicholas

The wording doesn't say Cal Prep first. It just says added flexibility. How will this effect all these other kids.

Board Audio at 3:15:07 Superintendent Vital

That is a good question. Say a parents wants to take Spanish I at Halstrom - can they or not under this policy?

Board Audio at 3:15:08 Dr Susan Holiday

No because CUSD offers that.

Board Audio at 3:15:09 Superintendent Vital

So either we allow this in out policy or we don't. We need to clarify the policy. We give the diploma so we want them to take the course from us. But we also want to add flexibility for students with impacted schedules.

Board Audio at 3:16:28 Trustee McNicholas

I don't think we ever gave direction to to staff regarding online classes at other institutions.

Board Audio at 3:16:28 Trustee Hanacek

I do not want to create any policy that encourages parents or students to cut corners. For example- senior year taking 5 classes. My neighbors son said he was taking classes at Saddleback - but he was coming home everyday after 3rd period. When we checked up he was not taking classes at Saddleback.

Board Audio at 3:17:17 Trustee Reardon

We were talking about maximum flexibility so students can get the classes they need. We have hundreds of students that are co-enrolled in Junior Colleges- We need to figure out how to accept that credit.

Board Audio at 3:18:23 Trustee McNicholas

That is actually on here under number "C"

Board Audio at 3:18:26 Superintendent Vital

So we will figure out how to word the policy so that we encourage students to take the class with us; and then if you can't, we don't want to stand in their way.

Board Audio at 3:18:44 Dr. Susan Holiday

Summarize to make sure I am clear:

Add an option to address Military and Migrant - transfers

Include CCP Teachers in Metrics going forward for first semester to present that data in January 2018

Include Clearing House Data to see if our students are graduating from college and related to CCP

Do not build online program yet - wait for the data

Build the language for classes the district does not offer.

Board Audio at 3:20:26 Superintendent Vital

Current metrics for CCP are coming back next meeting and in June.