The District’s Board of Trustees met on Wednesday, Oct. 30, for their monthly meeting. The agenda included M-A’s AVID program, teacher salary schedules, test scores following detracking initiatives, and the integration of ParentSquare, a new District communication system.
Human Resources Concerns
During public comment, several community members continued to express their concerns about the prolonged absence of basketball coach Mike Molieri, who was placed on administrative leave at the start of the school year for unclear reasons.
Administrative assistant Ofa Taimani, who is currently on leave for a work-related injury, requested the board share more details about the circumstances behind Molieri’s leave.
Head Electrician Louis Oliver, who has worked at the District since 2011, raised concerns about the lack of compensation he has received for the additional roles he has taken on. Oliver has served as lead painter as well as head electrician, yet he has been denied compensation for the additional work. A new job description, including a new salary and set of benefits, has been created for the role of lead painter.
M-A WASC Report Presentation
This year, M-A must send a report to the Western Association of Schools and Colleges–an accreditation system–in order to get its accreditation renewed. During public comment, M-A WASC coordinator and English teacher Susie Choe, who is tasked with preparing the report, shared standardized testing results and other data from M-A’s current senior class, the first group to take the complete set of M-A’s detracked course offerings.
Choe also reported that scores on the Smarter Balance Assessment Consortium—a set of standardized tests M-A juniors take during the spring semester— are the second highest they’ve ever been, with over 50% of seniors exceeding English standards. Furthermore, AP exams have also seen increased pass rates, with over 30% of the school taking at least one exam and 92% of those individuals passing at least one exam.
Choe also noted that sport and club participation is increasing. 953 students–more than 40% of the student body–participated in a sport last year, and 729 attended a club meeting in September. Out of club participants, approximately 54% were white, 18% were Hispanic, 21.6% were Asian, 2.2% were Pacific Islander, 2.2% were Native American, and 1.1% were Black. 391 attendees were female, and 228 were male. White, Asian, and Native American students are overrepresented in club participation, while Hispanic, Pacific Islander, and Black students are underrepresented.
Teacher Salary Schedule
Sequoia District Teachers Association President Edith Salvatore announced that the SDTA and the District reached a tentative agreement of a 5.5% salary raise for the 2024-25 school year and spoke about the coming negotiations. The contract was ratified nearly unanimously by the teacher’s union last week.
Superintendent Crystal Leach commended the agreement. “It is a pretty good deal for the teachers and is definitely well-deserved because, one, our teachers are fabulous, and two, it’s pretty expensive here. However, we probably won’t see the same levels next year, because, while we aren’t in the red yet, we do need to see property taxes go up.”
AVID Recognition
M-A AVID teachers Arminda King and Rachel Andres joined AVID students to update the board on the progress of the AVID programs throughout the district.
King began by sharing a few words in memory of late AVID tutor Diego Vasquez.
Andres then moved on to a happier note, reporting many positive statistics that came from AVID. The lowest graduation rate for AVID students since 2016 has been 96%––around 6% higher than the overall SUHSD graduation rate in 2023-24. The percentage of students in AVID who met A-G requirements has increased from 79% to 87% since 2016.
“It helped me become an A and B student instead of a B and C student. AVID is such a good program,” M-A sophomore Camila Aguilar said to the board. Aguilar, who joined AVID this year believes that being surrounded by like-minded students who also have the goal of attending college has helped her academically.
AVID works to mirror the representation of each school but puts more emphasis on students who are often underrepresented in colleges. Currently, AVID overrepresents Hispanic and socioeconomically disadvantaged students, while accurately representing African Americans, Pacific Islanders, and students with 504 plans. Andres did note that students with Individualized Education Plans were underrepresented in AVID, but that this is often because AVID conflicts with the other support classes that students with IEPs might be taking.
Integration of ParentSquare
Leach highlighted the switch from the District communication system SchoolMessenger to ParentSquare, an application designed to help schools quickly communicate essential information to parents. ParentSquare is also used by M-A’s feeder middle schools, easing the 9th-grade transition for parents.
Board President Shawneece Stevenson expressed her approval of ParentSquare, noting its accessibility, especially since communication can be sent in English, Spanish, and possibly more. Concurrent messaging using both platforms will persist throughout the rest of the year, with messages coming through ParentSquare starting in January.
