September 2021 Message from the Superintendent

Back to School 2021

At Carlsbad Unified, the 2021-22 school year has launched successfully. Our students are back on campus full time. Sports teams and VAPA (visual and performing arts) groups are practicing and competing. And everybody is relishing their time back in the classrooms, at the lunch tables, and on the playgrounds.

Last year was a difficult and emotionally challenging time. We missed out on many things, like football games and field trips and fairs.  But I do not think we should call it a lost or a wasted year.  I hope we focus on our successes in finding new ways to meet the pandemic’s challenges --- new instructional formats, new community connections, and new technologies for communicating with students and parents.  Over the past 18 months, we showed flexibility and creative adaptation in trying new and different ways to help students learn.

At last week’s Board meeting, our Instructional Services team presented the results of our Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) for the 2020-21 school year.  This report showed how we did on the goals we had set for ourselves last year; and it helps us determine our goals for this new year. Despite the upheavals of last year, there were many outstanding accomplishments of which to be proud. 

Academic Achievement

Despite the disruptions of the last 18 months, we have ample evidence of student learning and growth in the 2020-21 school year. Important data points worth sharing include:

The percentage of our students who graduated on time in 2021 is an amazing 98%, up 4% over the last 5 years.  (In contrast, this year’s graduation rate is 85% in San Diego County and 87% in California.)

Carlsbad Unified’s college-going rate is an impressive 80%. (The national rate is 57%.)

The percentage of our 2021 graduates who completed the A-G requirements, making them eligible for the University of California and California State University systems (UC/CSU), increased by three points this year to 83% --- up an impressive 12% over 5 years. (Our 83% figure compares with 52% of graduates in San Diego County and 47% in California.)

The percentage of our high school students enrolled in at least one honors, AP, or community college course is up 18% over the last five years, to 79%.

Academic Support

During the pandemic, we also have given our students additional academic support including tutoring, added intervention sections, and more intervention teachers. Further, a robust and well-attended summer school helped hundreds of students brush up on their basic skills or to stay on track to graduate on time. Also available was the Gear Up program for incoming 6th and 9th graders and other in-person and virtual learning options. In total, we provided summer learning experiences to 631 elementary students, 538 middle school students, and 599 high school students in the summer of 2021 (or 1,768 students all together).

Social Emotional Support

Because of school closures during the pandemic, many students experienced disconnection from their peers, their teachers, their sports, and the larger community. Related to that was an increase in general stressors on students’ emotional health, as well as a higher incidence of serious mental health concerns. In response to these Social Emotional realities, Carlsbad Unified has instituted more counseling, mental health supports, and new elementary school counseling for students in need. The Harmony program at the elementary schools and student advisory periods at the middle and high schools help students to build resilience, and teach skills such as time management and how to combat bullying.

Yes, there are still a (relatively low) number of positive COVID-19 cases, and some students and staff members are quarantining at home.  But, much more broadly, we are back at school, teaching and learning, collaborating and exploring --- and integrating the knowledge we have gained from dealing successfully with these challenging times.  Carlsbad Unified is living our mission: to provide every student an extraordinary education in an inspiring environment.

August 2020 Message from the Superintendent

Welcome to the 2020-21 School Year, Carlsbad Unified! 

With the start of the new school year we are relaunching our monthly newsletter, Carlsbad Unified Connections, to share our stories and keep you informed.  We will be spotlighting our outstanding schools and updating you on important issues being considered by the Board. 

School opens on Tuesday, August 25, but, as you know, campuses will remain closed until further notice in compliance with COVID-19 public health orders.

Like in every new school year, students and staff alike are feeling the excitement, apprehension, and the promise of a fresh start. But Back To School this year is not normal; we are experiencing the uncertainties and disappointments of this pandemic year.  It has been challenging to predict what this year will look like and to plan an instructional program that meets the academic and social-emotional needs of our students.

But we are Carlsbad Unified.  So we will strive to create opportunities to inspire and motivate our students.  Remember that -- as Plato said -- necessity is the mother of invention.  Knowing that the best inventors in history were galvanized by the most challenging times, we will challenge ourselves and our students to become such  inventors and to find the good that can come out of hard times.  

The urgency of this public health crisis spurred exemplary work by our teachers and administrators in their Summer Institute collaborations, transforming our instructional program from the emergency remote learning of the Spring into innovative, structured, and rigorous Distance Learning 2.0 plans for the Fall.  

In Summer Institute Session 1, a Planning Task Force developed a flexible framework for teaching and learning in an online or hybrid environment, and reviewed and recommended the necessary instructional tools. In Session 2, an Instructional Plan Development Work Group designed creative ways to engage students in distance learning with academic rigor, daily interaction, and conceptual schedules that look much like a student’s regular school day. The Work Group built four weeks of standards-based lesson plans for each grade level and class, which will support our teachers as they begin the year. I appreciate the contributions of these dedicated professionals.

Additionally, I appreciate the partnership of the Carlsbad Educational Foundation (CEF), which will be offering fee-based childcare on many of our campuses this fall. See CEF Kids Care.

View our COVID-19 Safe Reopening website for further information about registration, meal service, instructional materials, and other topics. Our principals will also be communicating important information in the coming days. We will continue to prioritize the health and safety of our students, teachers, and staff as we follow the guidance of federal, state, and local public health officials. 

Together, we will make extraordinary things happen in these extraordinary times.