School Board Meeting Wrap-Up

The following is from Tuesday’s Laguna Beach Unified School District Board of Education meeting.

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School officials discuss goals

Supt. Sherine Smith led a discussion on the year ahead, with principals from the four school sites sharing their individualized goals.

Smith talked about the growing importance of college readiness. She mentioned “College Knowledge” author David Conley, who said that if schools could make one change to boost a child’s college preparedness, it would be to increase the amount and quality of writing in school curriculum.

Writing was a subject brought up many times by school officials, and Asst. Supt. Nancy Hubbell said the staff is working diligently to enhance that curriculum at every school.

Top of the World Elementary Principal Ron LaMotte and El Morro Elementary Principal Chris Duddy said they plan to devote one meeting a month to connecting staff with the IT department to explore the ways they can use technology and build on the way they incorporate it into work and teaching.

Asst. Supt. Hubbell also congratulated students and staff on a consistent track record of improvement over the past five years when it comes to test scores on the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE), STAR, SAT and ACT, and increased levels of participation in Advanced Placement classes.

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‘Learning Walk’ will give perspective

Hubbell also discussed the “Learning Walk,” a new district initiative where a group of teachers will sit in on classes to gauge how well students are responding to the curriculum.

Hubbell said the group can report back to the teacher on the level of engagement and response and also when kids seem to tune out.

“We’re expecting to get really great results,” Hubbell said.

—Joanna Clay