Carrie Buck, president, Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District
What did your district do to foster learning recovery and educational advancements during the 2021–22 school year? What do you have planned for the 2022–23 school year to continue this progress?
The Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District remains committed to delivering targeted support and intervention for underperforming students, including, but not limited to, students of poverty, homelessness and foster youth, in order to narrow the achievement gap and boost learning recovery. Annually, the district prioritizes funds to implement various actions and strategies to deliver academic interventions. Below is a list of what the district implemented during the 2021–22 school year and what the district has planned to continue this work for the 2022–23 school year.
- 2021-22
● Coordinate before- and after-school tutoring programs.
● Ensure at-risk students within the student groups listed under “Identified Needs” are enrolled in academic interventions.
● Continue the use of iReady reading and math intervention programs at elementary and middle schools.
● Supplement the core curriculum with the Math 180 intervention program at all middle schools.
● Train staff on a multi-sensory, evidence-based approach to explicit reading instruction and interventions to address literacy including, but not limited, to Dyslexia.
● Design and implement middle school math intervention programs for student groups not meeting standards.
● Provide reading interventions through small group instruction in order to mitigate pupil learning loss.
● Provide targeted support to identified students in order to maintain the growth of academic, social, behavioral, communication and other skills made throughout the school year.
● Maintain lower class size at El Camino Real High School to better serve the needs of at-risk students while always staying within contract limits.
● Maintain intervention classes for at-risk students.
● Provide additional support at Valencia High School to ensure the needs of English learners, low-income and foster youth are monitored and supported.
● Continue to support students by extending the library media technician hours to increase student achievement. Implement a summer program to address learning loss in the content areas of English language arts and math for students K-12.
● Facilitate extended academic and literacy support, as well as a safe environment for low-income students, foster youth and English learners, through an after-school program at five elementary schools and one middle school.
● Provide additional support at high-impact schools to ensure the attendance of English learners, low-income and foster youth is monitored and supported via Saturday school with attendance monitoring and follow-up visits.
● Provide district leadership and support staff to meet the needs of students who are at-risk.
● Continue to ensure the accuracy of data related to unduplicated pupils.
● Provide additional teachers to lower class size/reduce classes when possible.
● Research options for the utilization of computer labs for extended instruction.
● Provide guidelines for the use and implementation of iReady instruction.
● Design and implement a summer in-person, credit-recovery program (with biology and chemistry courses) for all high school students including foster youth, English learners, low-income and homeless students. - 2022–23
● Continue the use of iReady reading and math intervention programs at elementary and middle schools.
● Supplement the core curriculum with the Math 180 intervention program at all middle schools.
● Design and implement middle school math intervention programs for student groups not meeting standards.
● Provide reading interventions through small group instruction in order to mitigate pupil learning loss.
● Provide targeted support to identified students in order to maintain the growth of academic, social, behavioral, communication, and other skills made throughout the school year.
● Maintain lower class size at El Camino Real High School to better serve the needs of at-risk students while always staying within contract limits.
● Provide more individualized support in remedial math classes (Algebra 1A/1B) through a lower student-to-teacher ratio.
● Maintain intervention classes for at-risk students.
● Provide additional support at Valencia High School to ensure the needs of English learners, low-income and foster youth are monitored and supported.
● Continue to support students by extending the library media technician hours to increase student achievement.
● Provide a secondary summer program for students with impacted schedules or credit recovery needs to increase on time graduation rates.
● Provide additional support at high-impact schools to ensure the attendance of English learners, low-income and foster youth is monitored and supported via Saturday school with attendance monitoring and follow-up visits.
● Provide district leadership and support staff to meet the needs of students who are at-risk.
● Continue to ensure the accuracy of data related to unduplicated pupils.
● Provide additional teachers to lower class size/reduce classes when possible.
● Examine academic Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) in instruction to develop leveled interventions for students.
● Provide multi-sensory, evidenced-based materials to support explicit reading and math instruction to address areas of need.
● Expand access to coursework through online learning opportunities for credit recovery.
● Provide instructional materials for the Gear Up program.
● Continue the use of the Benchmark Reading intervention program at the elementary grade span.
● Facilitate extended academic and literacy support, as well as a safe environment for low-income students, foster youth and English learners through an after-school program at five elementary schools and one middle school.
● Continue to implement a variety of alternative educational programs to meet the unique learning needs of students.
What summer extended learning opportunity programs is your district offering?
At the high school level, the district will offer the following in-house and out-of-district summer programs to students for 2022:
- Credit Recovery Program at El Camino Real High School (non-college preparatory)
- This summer El Camino Real High School will offer an in-person credit recovery program for students to recover up to twenty credits, 10 in each three-week session. Courses offered will consist of core academic classes, including Algebra 1B, language arts and social science, with additional elective courses to be added based on enrollment and student needs.
- Summer Impact (college preparatory credit recovery)
- Summer Impact will focus on credit recovery with an emphasis on courses such as biology and chemistry, which are not offered through the Orange County Department of Education’s ACCESS program or Pacific Coast High School.
- Extended School Year (ESY)
- Annually, the district offers ESY for special education students at all grade levels that require services to prevent regression beyond recoupment.
- Alternative, Community, and Correctional Education Schools and Services (ACCESS) (online non-college preparatory credit recovery with weekly check-ins)
- Pacific Coast High School through Orange County Department of Education (online college preparatory credit recovery)
- PYLUSD partners with OCDE to provide credit recovery programs through two county schools, Pacific Coast High School (PCHS) and Alternative, Community, and Correctional Education Schools and Services. PCHS is a rigorous, fully online college prep program through which students can complete courses for credit recovery in order to be eligible for four-year colleges and universities. Students may complete a maximum of two courses (10 credits) via PCHS during the summer term. ACCESS is an OCDE program that offers non-college-prep courses for PYLUSD students. ACCESS will offer two options for students during the summer of 2022. Students choose either an independent study program in which they meet with a credentialed teacher on campus by appointment one time per week or choose a completely remote program in which they complete online coursework and meet digitally with their teacher weekly. Students may complete up to three semester courses (15 credits) via ACCESS during their summer term.
- Fullerton College Dual Enrollment (some online and some in-person)
- High school students can earn college credit by enrolling in courses offered by Fullerton College. These courses are taught in person on PYLUSD high school campuses and online and are free of charge. All courses are CSU- and UC-approved for transfer.
At the middle school level, the district will offer the following summer program to students for 2022:
- Middle School Summer Program
- The district will host classes for middle school students to help refresh their ELA, math and physical education skills while offering exciting elective courses. Kraemer Middle School in Placentia will serve as the venue for this year’s program, which will take place June 27-July 28, 2022four days a week.
At the elementary school level, the district will offer the following summer programs to students for 2022:
- Summer Enrichment 2022
- Transitional kindergarteners through seventh-grade students may choose to participate in Summer Enrichment at Lakeview Elementary School this summer. Summer Enrichment is a five-week program In which students rotate through four engaging, future-ready classes of their choice led by top-notch PYLUSD teachers.
- Expanded Learning Summer Camp (Child Care) Program
- Expanded Learning Summer Camp will take place at five elementary schools this summer. It will last ten weeks and will feature outdoor/indoor activities, STEAM projects, events, and field trips. Parents pay for students to participate in this camp.
- Expanded Learning After School Education and Safety (ASES) Program
- Expanded Learning/ASES Summer ELOP Camp will take place at four of our ASES sites from July 1Aug. 12. Students will have an opportunity to explore enriching topics during this camp.
What types of professional development priorities or supports do you have planned for teachers and staff?
Understanding the importance of staff wellness and self-care in maintaining high spirits and resiliency, this year we were able to offer Mindfulness Wednesdays for staff, which included online Zoom sessions after school for any staff (classified and certificated) who wanted to partake in mindful activities led by several of our certified wellness staff members. In addition, we partnered with an outside organization to offer yoga led by certificated instructors several afternoons per week on school campuses. We hope to be able to continue similar opportunities for our staff into the 2022–23 school year.
What are some ways the district is sharing positive news and/or support with families and the community?
The district utilizes a wide variety of available resources to communicate positive news with stakeholders and the community at large. One resource is the district’s Good News Report, which is a blog-style website that serves as a hub for articles about the happenings, awards and accolades, and general good news from across the school district. Students, staff and families are encouraged to share detailed write-ups and high-quality pictures for the Good News Report. A biweekly Good News Report email is then shared with all staff and families. The district also uses the website, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube to share highlights from across campuses. Staff and families receive regular email, text, phone call and mobile application notifications with updates from our district leadership team as well as other applicable information, resources and opportunities available to our staff and families.
What do you like to do in your free time?
In my free time I like to travel with my husband and three daughters. My middle daughter is in college at the University of Hawaii, Manoa, so most of our trips this year have been to visit her. I also like to work in the garden. I have way too many succulents, but they are the perfect plants for me because I don’t have to worry about them when I am busy with work, school board activities or when I am traveling with my family.
