School Board Meeting Wrap-Up

The following is from the June 22 meeting of the Laguna Beach Unified School District Board of Education.

Helping students to succeed

Assistant Supt. of Instructional Services Nancy Hubbell announced that the Collaborative Academic Support Team program is yielding positive results at both Top of the World and El Morro elementary schools.

Elementary school principals Chris Duddy and Ron LaMotte presented the board with a PowerPoint presentation to illustrate the learning benefits and advancement of students with the CAST system, which includes universal screening three times a year and helps identify struggling students.

Each site’s Specialist Team, composed of the principal, a school counselor, psychologist, speech pathologist, occupational therapist and others, are available to meet with teachers to help develop more efficient and effective interventions.

CAST goals include early and efficient intervention on emerging academic or behavioral concerns, building staff capacity to use data to make instructional decisions and infuse specialist collaboration into Professional Learning Communities collaboration.

One of the major goals of the program is to have all students perform at or above grade level, with struggling students “catching up” through the intervention process.

“Our teachers and specialists are doing a remarkable job of collaborating to make sure that every student succeeds. The student outcomes clearly show the success of these efforts,” Hubbell said.

A fond farewell to Supt. Fraisse

The board approved the resolution that recognized Robert Fraisse, superintendent of schools from 2007-10, for outstanding and dedicated performance and leadership.

Board President Ketta Brown read the resolution as the board gallery gave Fraisse a standing ovation.

Reflecting upon his 37-year career in education, Fraisse expressed appreciation for the district staff.

“It’s been an honor to have served as part of the LBUSD team of teachers, parents, staff, board members, administrators and community members all of whom have brought their talents forward on behalf our students. It’s that team effort that makes Laguna Beach Unified School District so special and that teamwork will most assuredly carry forward into the future under the able leadership of Sherine Smith,” he said.