Coronado Unified leaders said they are reviewing safety policies in the aftermath of a recent missing-child incident.
“Changes are happening immediately,” board President Alexia Palacios-Peters said. “This is not something that is being pushed to later, it’s happening now because this absolutely cannot happen. We will continue to have discussions about that and do everything that we can to make sure that every child is safe, that’s the priority, so they can learn and that you can feel comfortable sending your children into our schools.”
That commitment came in response to an Oct. 8 incident at Village Elementary School, where a six-year-old child went missing from the campus.
According to the girl’s mother, she was informed her daughter had disappeared and was found about a mile from school. Later, the mother learned from her daughter she had gone through a gate that she pushed open.
The woman told trustees of the board she was infuriated and saddened by the events that unfolded at the Oct. 17 meeting following Superintendent Karl Mueller’s safety report.
“This can never happen again to any child, at any school, but especially here at Village,” the parent said. “I’m asking the board to take this incredibly seriously.”
The district’s Safety Committee had their first meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. The group will work to ensure CUSD’s Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) complies with all state and federal statutes and codes, according to the report.
Mueller said the committee’s next sessions will welcome discussions to strengthen protocols and ensure students remain on campus.
CUSD ranks top 3 in the county for several subjects
Also at the Oct. 17 meeting, Senior Director of Learning Megan Battle announced that the school district is ranked No. 1 in English, No. 2 in Math and No. 3 in Science across the San Diego County based on the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) reports.
Battle said the English and Math assessment tests were taken by students in grades three through eight, along with grade 11.
According to Battle, half of CUSD students took the annual exams in Spring 2024.
She said performance improved among majority of significant student groups, including those with disabilities, Hispanics, military children and the socioeconomically disadvantaged.
Battle said overall performance “slightly decreased” for CUSD on science tests given to students in grades five, eight and eleven.
However, she added, district scores are above the county (35.54%) and state (30.70%) averages in 2023-24 of students who met or exceeded standards.
Coronado Unified is above average in all three areas with 75.7% of CUSD students who met or exceeded the standards in English Language Arts, 64.3% who met or exceeded the standards in Mathematics and 51% who met or exceeded the standards in Science.
According to Battle, CUSD’s plan to improve standardized test scores includes screening and progress monitoring resources, early intervention, and targeted diagnostics.
During a Coronado Middle School report, Principal Brooke Falar said this year the school will be piloting a new, grant-funded assessment method, known as STAR, in math, English and intervention classes.
“Our goal is that all of our students will take the STAR test,” said Falar.
STAR will be administered at the Middle School three times a year, according to Falar, with re-testing in October and March for students who need intervention.
The possibility of students completing the assessment five times in a year is to help staff monitor student progress, determine placement for classes and guide instruction, added Falar.
The next regular board meeting is Nov. 21 at 4 p.m.
