The Natomas Unified School District Board of Trustees met last night during its regular Board meeting and approved a variety of items including action items in direct support of the district’s Learning Recovery plan for students, district safety efforts, and next steps in the search of NUSD’s next superintendent upon Superintendent Chris Evans’ announcement that he will be retiring in 2024.
Recognition of Outgoing Trustees
After recognizing Native American Heritage Month and Sikh American Awareness and Appreciation Month, the Board acknowledged the service of Trustees Lisa Kaplan and Jag Bains, as they both attended their last Board meetings as Trustees for the Natomas Unified School District. Trustee Kaplan has been a Trustee since 2002, serving the families of the Natomas community for 20 years! Trustee Bains was elected to the Board in 2018, serving on the Board for four years. Both Trustees were presented with a plaque of recognition for their service to NUSD. Trustee Sue Heredia presented Trustee Kaplan with a Certificate of Congressional Recognition from Congresswoman Doris Matsui for her many years of service to our community. Both Trustees Kaplan and Bains were joined by family, friends, and staff who have worked alongside them for the success of all students. We wish both of them well and much success in their new beginnings.
Board Approves Moving Forward to Issue a Request for Proposal for Superintendent Search Firm Services
Upon the announcement of Superintendent Chris Evans that he would be retiring after dedicating nearly 30 years of his life to education. Trustees voted last night to move forward with issuing a Request for Proposal for superintendent search firm services. This allows the Board to hear from search firms and decide on an approach for hiring the next superintendent in NUSD.
Board Approves Phase 2 of Learning Recovery Approved for $2.79 Million
The Board of Trustees approved $2.79 million in one-time funds to further support the district’s Learning Recovery efforts for students for a period beginning November 2022 – May 2024. During last night’s presentation, Superintendent Chris Evans shared a proposed plan that he referred to as Phase 2 of the district’s Learning Recovery efforts. This plan in particular would provide our school sites the flexibility and innovation to create and utilize programs/resources they believe will work best for their school community to continue to improve writing as part of the district’s major focus on literacy, as well as focus on learning recovery efforts for students in light of the last two years we have experienced. Teachers will have the opportunity to apply for mini-grants that will focus on interventions and enrichments for students, with the hope that through monitoring student progress over time, we will learn from teachers what has worked and what has not, in order to positively impact more students.
These efforts will be supported with centralized services including a 24/7 virtual tutoring service where families will be able to receive support from a live tutor, Reading/Literacy Intervention Software services – some guided by staff and others utilized by families with training offered – to support students and pinpoint areas of need for student skill and standards. Within some of the softwares selected, there is also support for other subjects such as math, science, social studies and Spanish. Some of these resources will be available in a matter of days and weeks and others may begin after the new year.
Board approves funding for improvements in Safety at Inderkum High School
As part of our increased safety efforts, the Board approved the conceptual designs and funding for new perimeter fencing and main campus entry upgrades at Inderkum High School (IHS). This comes after our facilities staff obtained feedback over the last six months from IHS staff, students, and public safety partners on the best avenues to increase safety on campus. The new additions will provide more security to the open campus and allow for increased outdoor seating and tables for students to connect, engage with one another, and utilize throughout the day. The new seating will be installed at the start of the new year.
The fencing will be designed to complement the school with possible inclusion of art, photos, and designs that reflect the school spirit. Some examples of the type of fencing that could be installed are below. The cost of the project, including increased safety upgrades to the main campus entry area, is estimated at approximately $3 million. Construction for the fencing and entry area will begin right after the 2022-2023 school year ends.
