The District Board of Trustees convened for its monthly meeting on Wednesday evening. They commended M-A students and staff, approved the creation of a new Tongan class for heritage speakers, and received updates on District construction plans at each site.
Recognitions
To begin the meeting, the Board recognized the M-A debate team. Principal Karl Losekoot detailed the team’s accomplishments, citing their recent victories at the National Parliamentary Debate League Tournament of Champions, to which only 66 teams were invited.
Composed of over 25 students, the M-A debate team is largely student-led. Losekoot acknowledged that the team’s success comes from the members’ dedication to the activity.
After Losekoot presented, Trustee Sathvik Nori—a former member of the M-A debate team—emphasized his admiration for this year’s team’s accomplishments and level of commitment. He mentioned exchanging emails with members seeking guidance, and that he regrets not being as involved in the program prior to this year.
Losekoot also recognized M-A’s Newcomer Student Support Team, which provides assistance to new students from foreign countries. The support team includes bilingual aides, teachers, and other staff coordinators. He explained that the Team has made a substantial effort to make students feel included in American school and culture, mentioning ELL Teacher James Nelson’s annual Thanksgiving dinner, where students experience a traditional American Thanksgiving. Losekoot also described how staff members have made school activities like prom accessible to students by ensuring they have safe means of transportation and are aware of ticket sales.
Losekoot praised the group for strengthening their curriculum and preparing students for the ELPAC exam, a California test evaluating the English proficiency of non-native English speakers.
New Tongan Heritage Speaker Course Proposal
During public comment on the consent agenda, Tonga Victoria, an M-A alumni, passionately expressed support for the board approving the Tongan language course.
“As someone who grew up in the community to Tongan immigrant parents who spoke mostly Tongan, much of that language lived at home and not in the classroom, and over time that created a lot of things, but mostly this lack of belonging in my high school experience,” she said.
She also highlighted the teachers who originated the program and built out the proposal.
Following Victoria’s comment, executive director for Anomatali Polynesian Voices, Tiffany Uhila-Hautau ‘00, began by thanking the Board for bringing forth the course proposal and acknowledging the need for the class.
She then established how Tongan students, especially those from districts like Ravenswood City School District, are navigating gaps in foundational literacy, limited access to academic language support, and systems that have not consistently engaged their families in meaningful ways. With this in mind, she shared her concerns about how Tongan students might struggle in the course without proper support for their literacy. She also raised questions about how the course will serve heritage speakers at different levels of proficiency and how the curriculum is being formed.
“We support the cause, this course, but we’re asking the district to slow down and partner with the community to get it right,” she said. “Our students don’t just need access, they need support, rigor, and a pathway to succeed. So representation without support is not equity, it’s exposure. And our students deserve more than that. We cannot assume that because they’re Tongan that they are automatically prepared for a heritage course. That assumption is exactly how students fall through the cracks.”
The Board then approved all items on the consent agenda except for the Tongan heritage course proposal so they could add comments on it. Trustee Amy Koo commended the team that put the proposal together, explaining the value of the course. “I think it’s a really great example of trying to meet the needs of a community as well as actually elevate the ability for more students to achieve A-G, as this creates another world language opportunity and elevates the cultural understanding of the Tongan community,” she said.
She also shared appreciation for the community’s feedback on the importance of partnering with them to ensure the course meets the needs of Tongan heritage speakers.
The Board then unanimously approved the course proposal.
M-A Construction Progress
The Board heard a presentation on Measure W facilities updates for campuses across the District. For M-A, plans for a new D and E-Wing building, weight room, and P.E. building are underway, with construction estimated to begin in the spring and summer of 2027. Plans to modernize the B-Wing were also mentioned, yet construction is not estimated to start until the summer of 2029.
Additionally, the bleacher replacement for M-A, which will increase seating capacity to 1475, will start post graduation this June and be completed in January 2027. The total program costs across all campuses sum to $591 million.
Koo raised the question of whether construction will occur during the school year or if it will be limited to breaks. The presenter clarified that construction is continuous, but that all measures will be taken to not affect school activities. He emphasized the communication they have had with the principals and subcommittees to make sure they are aware of it.
The Board will convene again on Wednesday, May 6.
