Workers, college students comment on state of the Sunnyvale Faculty District

College students and workers from the Sunnyvale Faculty District got here collectively at Columbia Center Faculty on Oct. 14 to speak about achievements, priorities and challenges on the inaugural State of the District occasion.

Alexandra Esperon Flores, an eighth-grader at Sunnyvale Center Faculty, talked about adjustments at her college, together with new scholar management applications and a brand new two-story classroom wing. She mentioned the brand new constructing “makes the environment much more vivid. Every time I walk into the Spartan Village, I feel a community and culture grow and come together.”

The Spartan Village advanced was one of many achievements famous on the occasion. Others included an enhanced bus system that has helped improve attendance and an improved baby diet program that features a minimum of one breakfast and two lunch entrées cooked from scratch each day at every college, recent produce all through the week and expanded vegetarian choices.

Attendance is among the many challenges the district has confronted lately, as continual absenteeism greater than doubled through the pandemic. Audio system famous that continual absenteeism is down 30% from that prime level, although it’s nonetheless elevated for some teams, significantly Latino, Black and Indigenous college students.

The district additionally faces monetary challenges, with bills exceeding basic fund income beginning within the 2024-25 college 12 months. The district diminished its deficit this 12 months and expects to shrink it additional in every of the subsequent few years.

The district can also be methods to shut achievement gaps for Latino college students, English Learners, college students with disabilities and socioeconomically deprived college students. San Miguel Elementary Faculty fifth-grader Santiago Lopez mentioned Juntos, the district’s Spanish-English twin language program, has helped him on a number of fronts.

“Because of this program, I am bilingual, and I am really proud of that,” he mentioned. “I know that speaking two languages will help me meet new people, understand new cultures and have amazing opportunities.”