Earlier this month, the California Department of Education (CDE) released the 2024 edition of its California Dashboard touting continued academic progress and a decline in chronic absenteeism while also highlighting continued trends of concern across a number of student groups throughout the state.
What is always difficult to take fully into account are the host of contributing internal and external environmental factors that have the ability to greatly impact student achievement and school operations. These factors include, but are not limited to, the growing personnel shortage, turnover in staffing, school boards and administration, student attendance and overall enrollment, increased number of accountability metrics and state requirements with minimal funding and support, the widening mental health crisis, the state of community support structures, and so on.
With that being said, it all begs the question: “What does this mean for Columbia Elementary School?”
The district remained relatively flat with those who “Meet or Exceed” in both English Language Arts (37.7%) and Science (31%), but increased by nearly three (3) points in Math (31.15%). Chronic Absenteeism saw another drop to 28.1% where it was at 47.6% in 2021-22, respectively. The school’s Suspension Rate also dropped to 4.2%.
There are other high points to note because another part of the California Dashboard is to monitor growth of those who “Meet or Exceed,” especially within cohorts and sub-groups. Of the five (5) eligible grade levels to show growth, three (3) did in English Arts (5-20%) and three (3) in Math (up to 32%).
Columbia Elementary School’s student population consists of 69.1% White, 20.2% Hispanic, 55.8% Socioeconomically Disadvantaged, 12.4% Students with Disabilities, and 2.7% English Learners. The school saw improvements in English Language Arts for Students who are Male, Students who are Two or More Races, and Students who are Hispanic. For Math, Students who are Female, Students who are Two or More Races, Students who are White, and Students who are Socioeconomically Disadvantaged improved with Students who are Female and Students who are Hispanic remaining stagnant. For Science, Students who are Male, Students who are White, Students who are Socioeconomically Disadvantaged, and Students with Disabilities all showed gains with Students who are Female remaining flat.
The California Dashboard’s performance indicators or levels are delivered in a color gauge that goes from Blue to Red. In 2023, the district had six (6) Red, eight (8) Orange, and two (2) Yellow. In 2024, the district has three (3) Red, eight (8) Orange, and five (5) Yellow.
Challenges in the 2023-24 school year included addressing inconsistencies in the core content areas on what was taught within and among grade levels, shoring up staffing vacancies, balancing out and properly allocating resources, improving climate and culture, and creating long-range plans to enhance learning and operations.
Moving Forward
Columbia Elementary School is excited about the prospects of how we will perform on next year’s California Dashboard based on the progress we have seen this school year already. In the 2024-25 school year to date, the school saw its second year of consecutive growth in enrollment and daily attendance, an emphasis on teaching all the core content areas (this includes Science and Social Studies) under a common and aligned curriculum, expanding upon opportunities in related arts for TK-5 and middle school electives, being fully staffed in special education, hiring a Literacy and a Math Interventionist, having a common Enrichment period for all students, and increasing access to behavioral and mental health personnel, programs, and interventions.
We know that with each year we have consistency in our expectations and learning experiences we will be able to not only close achievement gaps among our students, but demonstrate meaningful and sustainable growth as a school. We are already excited about what has been put into place and what we are looking at for the future that includes acceleration, high school credit opportunities, exposure to STEM, Career and Technical Education and World Languages for all students, and more activities.
On behalf of Columbia Elementary School, thank you to all the families for entrusting their children to our thoughtful and talented staff. We cannot wait to see what the upcoming years have in store for us all.