Board to review safety, education report

The Sulphur Springs Union School District Governing Board will hear an overview of the efforts and successes of the After School Education and Safety Program in the district during its meeting Wednesday.

Run out of Canyon Springs Community School and Mint Canyon Community School, the ASES program serves 135 students in second to sixth grade every day after school until 6 p.m.

The ASES program provides extended learning opportunities—including remediation in literacy, math support and academic enrichment—in a safe environment.

Each day, the program provides a snack and programs in physical education, English Language Arts support, mathematics re-teach, integrated enrichment activities, technology and the arts which helped increase students’ learning average and achievement.

During math lessons this year, ASES leaders focused on completing homework, re-teaching concepts, conducting number

sense activities, working with math practices and playing games.

For English Language Arts lessons, students focused on print concepts, phonological awareness, letter sounds, decodable words, spelling, sight words, reading comprehension, grammar, listening comprehension, basic vocabulary academic vocabulary and figurative language.

Students also followed the SPARK PE program for 30 minutes each day and participated in enrichment activities surrounding art, music, drama, STEAM, coding and computers.

In the future, the program hopes to continue its partnership with College of the Canyons’ TEACH Program, purchase materials and equipment for its curricular program and coordinate Tuesday enrichment services.

LCAP Adoption

During Wednesday’s meeting, Governing Board members are also expected to approve and adopted the district’s Local Control and Accountability Plan for 2017-18.

The LCAP requires districts to create an annual report or plan to describe goals and specific actions to support student outcomes and overall performance.

Earlier this month, on June 14, the district held a public meeting on the proposed plan.

Using stakeholder surveys, the district developed its goals and actions to address student, parent and staff recommendations.

Overall, the district serves 5,383 students in a diverse student population where 23 different languages are spoken at home, according to the LCAP report.

According to the report, 22 percent of students are English Learners, 50 percent are socio-economically disadvantaged, 11.4 percent are students with disabilities and 0.07 percent are Foster Youth.

For the 2017-20 plan, the district created four LCAP goals to identify best practices and close the achievement gap.

These goals include: strengthening student engagement and involvement with properly credentialed teachers and standards-aligned instruction, increasing student achievement with high-quality instruction and curriculum, supporting the whole child in partnership with families and the community, and providing a safe and healthy learning environment for all.

According to the district, no state or local indicators scored in the “red” or “orang” performance levels, but the district wants to focus on supporting the English Learner Program and mathematics instruction.

Budget Adoption

The Governing Board is also expected to adopt the district’s 2017-18 budget, which was also discussed during a public hearing June 14.

According to the agenda item, “the district, with proper attention to prudent financial planning, will be able to meet its financial obligations in the current and two subsequent years.”

Declining enrollment throughout the past six year will affect the district’s funding from the state and the district’s Local Control Funding Formula. For 2017-18, Average Daily Attendance rates of students enrolled is expected to decline by 38 students.

There will also be an increase in expenses due to an increase in the State Teacher Retirement System, Public Employee Retirement System and employee benefits.

With planning, the district will exactly meet its state-mandated 3 percent reserve amounts each year from 2017 to 2020.