With input from 146 student, parent, educator, and community participants, the Anaheim Union High School District Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) solidified the district’s goals for the upcoming year on May 9.
After the four focus groups drafted their top three recommendations at the LCAP’s last meeting, participants came to a consensus out of the ten options. Three focus groups drafted recommendations in capping class sizes and retaining teachers which were consolidated to one recommendation.
Attendees’ input was collected via Google Form. The top three recommendation will be presented to the Board of Trustees in June. Sixty-two participants voted to allocate funding to staffing social workers, counselors, Family and Community Engagement Specialists (FACES), and community school coordinators, 61 voted to reduce class sizes and retain teachers, and 47 voted to allocate funding for professional learning in social, emotional, and mental health. This funding will be concentrated specifically for low income, foster youth, and plurilingual students.
“[Attendees] spent long hours and days in this process. It’s very in-depth,” AUHSD Board of Trustees President Annemarie Randle-Trejo said. “It’s a pretty awesome experience to see everyone coming together and coming to a consensus.”
“It is a process of continuous improvement, and we look to continue to grow in the process with all of you.”
Dr. Roxana Hernandez
The LCAP will also become a more extensive process next year. While meetings previously began in the spring, the Steering Committee has decided to host meetings earlier to analyze its information and data more effectively.
“We have committed to start LCAPing earlier and not waiting until the spring to ensure the process does not feel rushed,” AUHSD Coordinator of Learning and Development Dr. Roxanna Hernandez said. “It is a process of continuous improvement, and we look to continue to grow in the process with all of you.”
The LCAP’s last meeting of the year concluded year one of its three-year cycle. From having student representatives in each focus group introduce their recommendations, spotlighting Kennedy High School junior Sophia Fung’s Soapbox speech, and partnering with organizations such as Orange County Congregation Community Organization (OCCCO) to share parent voices, the LCAP emphasized community participation.
“OCCCO helped us also debrief and understand a little more about LCAP. LCAP has a lot of information,” said AUHSD parent and OCCCO Parent Leader Sandra Cazarez. “We had really good people at tables that were able to help us understand, but if for the future, we can get paperwork ahead of time, so [parents] can come to the table with questions, it would be greatly appreciated.”
The AUHSD Board of Trustees will vote on the three recommendations the LCAP provided at a board meeting on June 6. Attendees are welcome to join at the district office in the last phase of this year’s LCAP cycle.
“LCAP is something that is humongous, and you guys are allowing us as parents to be a part of it and letting us be and help that change for our students to help their schools,” Cazarez said, addressing AUHSD. “We are that voice of other parents that cannot be here, and LCAP allows us to do that. Thank you for opening that door for us.”
