LCAP Parent Advisory and District English Learner Parent Advisory Committees Feedback and District Responses

2021-2024 Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP)
LCAP PAC and DELAC Written Responses

In alignment with Education Code, before the Governing Board of a school district considers the adoption of the LCAP, the Superintendent or designee must respond in writing to comments received from the LCAP Parent Advisory Committee (LCAP PAC) members and the District English Learner Parent Advisory Committee (DELAC) members.  The following are responses to questions and comments from both of these committees.  Please refer to the following key as necessary:

Q = Question
A = Answer
C = Comment
R = Response

Q: What does unduplicated students mean?
A: This term refers to the total number of students who belong to one or more of the groups identified for additional funding under the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF):  Low Income (measured by Free/Reduced Lunch eligibility), English Learner, and Foster Youth.  Unduplicated means that any student in one or more of these groups would only be counted once in the calculation.

Q: Since colleges will not be using the SAT and ACT, are we going to be using something else in order to get students college ready? 
A: NUSD will adjust and continue to provide college access support despite those tests being on pause by the CSUs and UCs.  Please refer to LCAP Goal 2, Action 11 for more information.

Q: Is the Roberts Family Development Center one of the providers for after school programs? 
A: No

Q: Is the Ethnics Study in line with the Assembly Bill 1551 that’s moving forward.
A: An Ethnic Studies committee will be reviewing applicable Education Code as the course and related work is developed.

Q: Are the Teachers on Special Assignment (TOSAs) for all grade levels?
A: TOSAs will provide support for grades K-6.

Q: The Cosmetology pathway seems to have a large dollar amount allocated for the program, but a smaller dollar amount allocated for literacy and mathematics. We need our students to be able to read and write, basic needs. It feels like the two dollar amounts are not balanced correctly.
A: The 18-month Learning Recovery plan (Goal 1, Action 13) includes $1.8 million which includes a large K-6 literacy component, and an additional $150,000 over two years is allocated to support literacy as well (Goal 1, Action 15).  The Career Technical Education(CTE) Pathways action (Goal 2, Action 9) includes the cost of all 10 pathways that are offered.

Q: Since the launch of the draft LCAP how much feedback have we received?
A: As of June 14th the District received 14 online responses. Feedback is always welcome. 

Q: Because it is a large document, can we provide summaries of the different action plans that we have? So people can have an interest in looking at the document and asking questions. 
A: The slides shared at public meetings are summaries.  The California Department of Education adjusted this year’s LCAP format to be more user friendly.

Q: Did everyone provide their ethnicity in the online feedback?
A: No, a respondent can decline to state. 

Q: After the Board approves the LCAP, if there are items not working out, can this document be adjusted? 
A: Yes, the Education Code allows school districts to adjust annually as needed. 

Q: Can money shift around down the road if we need more TOSAs or more money for the literacy plan?
A: All changes to the LCAP are subject to Board approval and available funding.

Q: If an elementary school is no longer a CSI school, what does that mean?
A: American Lakes and Bannon Creek exited Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) status in 2019. When schools are designated a CSI school, the local educational agencies (LEAs) must partner with stakeholders to locally develop and implement a plan to improve student outcomes.

Q: Some of the LCAP metrics need to establish/re-establish baselines, how do those get established?
A: The initial survey responses and data gathered become the baseline for that year and for the District to monitor and improve as indicated for the following years.

Q: What is the multilingual application? 
A: ParentSquare is the application that will be launched in phases. It can send out signable forms, receive/send messages in the preferred languages from school sites and the district office. It can send out volunteer lists, supply lists, etc. in multiple languages.  It sends out these messages in the preferred method and language via email, text, phone, etc. 

Q: How much does ParentSquare cost?
A: $4/per student.

Q: Can ParentSquare handle all the parents in the school district?
A: Yes, we are piloting with small groups first and launching district-wide in 2022-23.

Q: Where can we get the study Dr. Okonofua conducted? How do I get more information about Dr. Okonofua?
A: The study is being finalized and not a public report.  Dr. Okonofua is a Professor at UC Berkeley. 

Q: Are there programs for females and for mentoring students, when will we know what the programs will be?
A: On June 7, 2021, the Board approved a two-year contract with Girls Leadership. The LeadHERship program with Girls Leadership addresses the need for resources and support that focuses on the female population of 6-8th grade students at Natomas Middle School and Bannon Creek School. Two additional schools may be added in year two.  LeadHERship is geared towards helping girls learn about themselves, build intentional and positive relationships with their peers, learn new concepts regarding identity, social justice, and advocacy.

Q: What happened to Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS)?
A: Elements of MTSS are now under Goal 1, Action 11 and Goal 4, Action 15 and identified as Layered Academic and Social Emotional Support. 

Q: What are the $19,500 in foster supports allocated for?
A: As indicated in Goal 4, Action 9: NUSD will ensure Foster Youth have access to supports, such as extracurricular activities, clubs, music/band, sports, after-school enrichment activities, instructional technology and school supplies.

Q: Can the LCAP Parent Advisory Committee meet in person next year?
A: During the pandemic, in-person meetings will be under the safety guidance of the Sacramento County Department of Public Health.  If allowable, we will meet in person and virtually. 

Q: If we know a program will be good for a school, how do we petition to get that program or class?
A: Please contact your school principal to discuss program opportunities.

Q: Which team selects the girls mentoring program?
A: The Chief Academic Office recommends and the Board approves as applicable.

C: Looks great!
R: Thank you for your feedback.

C: Please fund the following:
-increase in the number of substitute teachers for the school sites
-increase in the number of instructional aides in kindergarten and grade one
-Increase professional learning opportunities for staff that provide instruction to English learner students around culturally relevant, sustaining, and responsive teaching
-increase in the number of reading intervention specialists in Title I schools
-increase in the offering of visual and performing art classes (art, music, dance) at Title I schools
-hiring of bilingual school community liaisons, in general but especially at Title I schools (languages spoken by liaisons determined by school home language census numbers)
-Increase in the number of counselors at Title I schools
-Establish programs and/or strategies to increase teacher and administrator retention (the turnover rate is excessively high and this is detrimental to a school community and, ultimately, to the students)
-Improvement of EL parent engagement through increase in the number of meetings offered  (strategically scheduled around parents’ schedules) to non-English-speaking parents throughout school year (topics of discussion/presentation to be determined by student, parent, school, and district needs; however, at a minimum increase direct and in-person home language meetings to adequately inform parents about LCAP and gather feedback and recommendations)
-Increased analysis of factors that influence LTEL student stagnation or regression in their ELD proficiency and develop better holistic approaches to addressing the linguistic and overall needs of these students
R: Thank you for the feedback.  Your comments have been shared with staff. 

C: Finally, please develop a more parent-friendly version of the LCAP survey itself as the current one is not really clear that/how parents can actually make recommendations and it includes many English acronyms that are confusing to many parents.
R: The LCAP template is approved by the California State Board of Education and is required by the California Department of Education.

 

The following submitted questions are from stakeholders not in the LCAP PAC or DELAC. All other stakeholder LCAP comments have been shared with appropriate staff.  Thank you for your feedback. 

Q: 1.14- How are the students picked for this program? It did not seem equitable, there was no conversation with the classroom teacher or relationship with the after school program. Also, the targeted students were not picked for the program. It seemed as only who you knew to get enrolled, and not an equitable enrollment process for the families that really needed it at our school site.
A: NUSD no longer offers the Roberts Family Development after school program.

Q: 2.05- Foster students need more support. There needs to be support during the day, such as social groups with the social worker, school counselor, or psychologist. For years I did not know there was a Foster Worker liaison. Students seemed to fall through the cracks at times, and move from school to school. Also, when students were pulled during the day, we had no communication with those external programs. Is there a way to improve communication for foster students and outside agencies, and the district with the classroom teacher and principal? Could events be created, family nights for foster students and their foster family?
A:   A Foster Youth liaison will coordinate with students, families, and schools to support Foster Youth.  More information may be found here.

Q: 2.14 Please at H. Allen. Hight to this line item, why is that school not included?
A: This 2019-20 action item was related to the International Baccalaureate (IB) programme.  H. Allen Hight is already designated as an IB school.

Q: 2.16- We took our students to UC Davis and to Sacramento state and were not given information on how to apply for these funds. How can a classroom teacher apply for this, why not a transparent process for all sites and grade levels?
A: The College Field trips program for specified grade levels was suspended prior to the pandemic.

Q: 4.03- What program exist for this and at what sites? What programs for social emotional needs. During the pandemic all sites need this support, what are the services for this program?
A: During the pandemic, social workers were assigned to assist elementary school students. Starting in 2021-2022, social workers will also be assigned to the middle and high schools. More information about social emotional support may be found here.

Q: 4.04= This is a great program, why not hire TOSA for this position to help implement at each site, as I have not heard of it being used at all sites or grade levels. Our students need this program!
A: The Restorative Justice/Practices program is at designated school sites and under the direction of an assigned administrator.  Please refer to Goal 4, Action 3 and Goal 5, Action 9 of the 2021-2024 LCAP for more information. 

C: 4.06- Expand for elementary schools a music program please.
R: Thank you for the feedback.  Your comments have been shared with staff. 

Q: Recruit and hire a diverse group of educators.- I feel that we have not supported or created a program to support the educators we have hired to go through the teaching credential program. Can you follow up with the program on how to improve, or see if it is working well? Also, the Leadership program does not seem to admit a diverse group of future administrators to the program, or I have not seen anyone from that program that has been hired? Why are the educators in that program not transparent? Shouldn’t the district be proud of who is admitted to that program? Are you doing surveys on how the program is going and how to make it stronger so we can hire people from that program?
A: A recent Board presentation provides recent program information and can be viewed here

Q: Present, Not Engaged code. What does this mean?
A: During the pandemic and distance learning, an attendance code was developed to identify students who may have been logged in to a Zoom session, but not engaged.  This code was used to identify students who may have needed more support. 

Q: How are parents able to stay engaged with the teachers if you aren’t able to get out of the car to speak with the teacher and there are no office hours either to discuss concerns over learning?
A: During the pandemic office hours and school schedules were adjusted to meet safety requirements to protect students, staff, and families.  Phone, email, and scheduled Zoom meetings are options to meet with teachers safely during the pandemic.  Please contact the school office if you have any questions.

Q: In addition, there has only been one parent teacher conference for the whole school year. Will this be fixed for the following school year?
A: During the pandemic office hours and school schedules were adjusted to meet safety requirements to protect students, staff, and families. If in-person meetings are allowable under the Sacramento County Department of Public Health, parent conferences may resume as scheduled. 

Q: I would like to know how the LCAP is used to decrease the number of students in a class. Prior to Covid, I have seen an English class at Inderkum with 42 students and this does not create nor promote a positive learning environment. When will classroom sizes be reduced to support intentional learning?
A:  Please contact your site principal with class size concerns. 

Q: What is the Williams process?
A: The Williams process requires a school district to prevent, identify, and resolve any deficiencies related to:

  • instructional materials, specifically all students are to have access to required textbooks
  • teacher vacancy or misassignment
  • emergency or urgent facilities conditions that pose a threat to the health and safety of students or staff

Q: NGSS instruction was not in the Acronym Guide, what is that?
A: Next Generation Science Standards

Q: There is mention of teacher professional development – is that not already a part of the work the district is doing or is this considered new?
A: Professional development included in the LCAP may be in addition to instructional / state standards professional development. Areas of focus may include anti-racist / anti-bias training, technology training, etc. 

Q: On pg. 4 1.05 what is the discontinued action? (also on other pages)
A: Discontinued actions were incorporated into other LCAP actions, no longer applicable, or reduced due to budgetary constraints.

Q: On pg. 5 1.08, there were Title I dollars for English learners budgeted but not expended? Why? I read the description on pg. 6 but still doesn’t make sense why.
A: The pandemic impacted in-person summer school offerings in the summer of 2020.  As a result related funds were not expended. 

Q: What does 1.10 really mean? Materials (books and supplies) or Customer service and constituents???
A:  If there are student textbook needs not being met by school sites.  Stakeholders may contact Constituent and Customer Service to report the information and ensure textbooks are available to all students.

Q: Why weren’t all the MTSS funds used?
A: School closures, instructional delivery methods, and professional development offerings were impacted by the pandemic.  Implementation of many programs and their related expenditures were affected.

Q: In Goal 3 there are so many things that were planned, budgets proposed and it looks like they were not done. Very disappointing especially since this is the parent and family engagement piece. So many missed opportunities here. During the pandemic this should have been a priority.
A: School districts across the country had to adjust stakeholder engagement activities to address the impacts of the pandemic.  “Routine” stakeholder engagement was delayed or adjusted as a result.  Several NUSD stakeholder surveys and engagement opportunities occurred to address the pandemic instructional environment.

Q: For Goal 4 there is a lot of “continue” to do…if there is past data to show what is being done is not working, why would you “continue” to do it? Why are programs and initiatives being implemented in only certain schools? Shouldn’t this be a district wide goal with policies and practices that directly affect all students, staff and families? Thank you for the sports, music and health assistant investments.
A: Throughout the LCAP, there are continued actions from the prior year(s). In alignment with Board Policy 0100, Theory of Action, “…“progress over time” is more essential than a snapshot in time of student achievement results. The Board of Trustees will monitor student and staff progress over time following the CCLI for these Theory of Action elements to make policy and budgeting decisions to ensure that student success remains the primary focus of the Natomas Unified staff.”  Education Code allows school districts to identify LCAP actions as LEA-wide or schoolwide.  This allows for targeted school improvement actions at designated schools that may have a higher unduplicated student population or specific need.

Q: There is a focus on Foster, what about other student groups, those experiencing homelessness, early education, etc. Typically there is a district Foster/Homeless Coordinator or Liaison. (You have Foster/Homeless in your budget on pg. 41)
A:  More information about our Foster/Homeless Supports may be found here.  More information about our Early Education programs may be found here

Q: There is no mention in Goal 4 of MTSS, why?
A: While not called out specifically, several elements of a Multi-Tiered System of Support, are included in Goal 4 actions. In addition, Goal 1, Action 11, Layered Academic and Social Emotional Support, includes MTSS elements. 

C: There should be consideration for a Youth Advisory Board, or at the very least youth panels for the board to hear about needs.
R: Thank you for the feedback.  Your comments have been shared with staff. 

Q: Can I count on you to champion the arts and fight for our students’ health and success?
A: Goal 1, Action 10 provides school sites funding to implement supplemental programs to support student achievement and social/emotional/physical well-being, which may include the arts. In addition, NUSD continues to support music education in LCAP Goal 4, Actions 5 and 10.