Did You Know?
At our Annual State of the District event I had the opportunity to talk about some of the things that I learned about Carlsbad Unified School District since I arrived this summer. This holiday season I want to applaud some of the amazing accomplishments from the past year, and to call your attention to some of the things we’re working on for the future. As someone new to Carlsbad, it seems that I learn something about our city or our school district practically every day. I hope you learn something new too.
DID YOU KNOW that our elementary programs focus on more than just the core academics? In addition to reading and math, and science and social studies, we also have excellent programs in art, music, physical education, social-emotional wellness, and character education. As a Unified School District, we are able to work with our learners from their first days in school through their graduation day, coordinating services and scaling our innovations across grade levels.
Our elementary schools are doing extraordinary things.
DID YOU KNOW that…
- Three of our schools — Hope, Pacific Rim, and Aviara Oaks Elementary — were named 2016 Gold Ribbon Schools by the California Department of Education?
- California Superintendent Tom Torlakson honored Hope Elementary with the Exemplary Arts in Education Award?
- Aviara Oaks Elementary was named an exemplary AVID school?
- Jefferson Elementary is a World School, carrying out the International Baccalaureate curriculum?
- Calavera Hills Elementary has implemented the Project Lead the Way curriculum, focusing on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math as part of a K-12 Pathway that we call STEM Street on College Boulevard?
- Buena Vista Elementary is deploying technology in every classroom, in an effort to be one-to-one school-wide;
- Kelly, Poinsettia, and Magnolia schools are all leaders in our new recycling and sustainability initiatives? While we’re just getting started, we’ve already increased our recycling diversion rate from 17% to over 40% in our elementary schools; and
- All nine Carlsbad Unified elementary schools and our CUSD Nutrition team were honored with the Bronze HealthyUS School Challenge Award by the California Department of Education and US Department of Agriculture.
Our middle schools are also award-winning, and are gaining statewide and national attention.
There are exciting innovations at Aviara Oaks, Valley, and Calavera Hills Middle Schools. This is the first year of what we are calling our Middle School Refresh: by focusing on Design Thinking and Project Based Learning, we are making middle grades education hands-on, relevant, and focused on the needs of the next generation of employers in Carlsbad, across the country, and around the world.
DID YOU KNOW that...
- The 2016 Teacher of the Year for the State of California was our very own Mr. Doug Green, Broadcasting teacher at Valley Middle School and Carlsbad High School?
- Also in 2016, the Valley Middle School team won the prestigious Student Television Network Award of Excellence in Broadcast and Film, making it the Number One program in the nation in broadcasting and film?
- Calavera Hills Middle School has once again been named a “California School to Watch - Taking Center Stage School?” It is among a select cadre of 78 schools in the state, and nearly 500 around the nation, that have been identified as Schools to Watch.
- As leaders in science, technology, engineering and math — and in partnership with teachers at Aviara Oaks, Valley, and Calavera Hills — our middle school teachers are changing how we teach (and how students learn) in ways that benefit all students and prepare them for the challenges of tomorrow?
Just like our elementary and middle schools, our high schools are also high-performing and well-regarded.
DID YOU KNOW that...
- This year we will have our first graduation ceremony at Sage Creek High School?
- Carlsbad High School was recognized with a silver award in 2016 by US News and World Report’s Best High Schools, putting it in the top 10% of all high schools in California and in the top 5% of all high schools in the nation?
- Carlsbad Village Academy and Carlsbad Seaside Academy are designed to provide choices to students in unusual situations — like professional athletes and actors — and to students in need of a more personalized learning environment?
We are proud of our college-going rates. 78% of our high school graduates go immediately to college.
DID YOU KNOW that…
- 41% of college-going students attend community college following high school? This is not unusual: according to the Community College League of California, 52% of CSU graduates and 31% of UC graduates started at a community college.
- Our graduates are successful in college, with a 91% persistence rate from freshman year to sophomore year in college?
DID YOU KNOW that our schools serve a diverse student population? Currently, 830 students across the district are English Language Learners, and nearly 1,200 students have special needs. Approximately one in five students in our schools qualify as low income. Regardless of income, or language, or special needs, in Carlsbad Unified we provide EVERY student an extraordinary education in an inspiring environment.
Our teachers and staff really care about Carlsbad, and are invested in Carlsbad. We recently found that 45% of our employees live in Carlsbad, and many of them were raised here too. In fact, 92 current employees went to school in Carlsbad and graduated from Carlsbad High School. As a brand new resident, that gives me great confidence in our people and our programs.
DID YOU KNOW that we are the original, founding school district of the Great Kindness Challenge? In Carlsbad, we believe that Kindness Matters.
Finally, regarding student performance on standardized tests: K-12 schools in California have recently switched to a new accountability system, and students are assessed annually in reading and math on the SBAC, or Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, tests. Carlsbad Unified schools continue to outperform countywide and statewide averages; and, year over year, Carlsbad Unified schools have shown growth in excess of countywide and statewide levels. While SBAC scores are far from the only academic measure we use to gauge success, it is an important indicator that shows that we continue to be one of the highest performing districts in the county.
I hope this gives you an appreciation that in Carlsbad Unified we’re serious about preparing students for success in their ultimate choice of career. Some will go on to college after high school; others will choose to serve our country in the military; and others will choose to go directly into the workforce. Regardless of their path, we are committed to making sure they are ready for success in their chosen career field. And we hope that many of our graduates will choose to return to, or remain in, this really amazing city of Carlsbad.
The school district has so many remarkable partners. Our parents and the local PTAs at each school provide terrific fundraising and other support for our students. The Carlsbad Educational Foundation (CEF) raises over $800,000 annually to support music, science, and innovation in our schools. We salute the committed staff at the City of Carlsbad, including the Carlsbad Police and Fire Departments — many of whom are parents of students in our schools — and we thank them for their support.
Finally, at this special time of year, I want to thank the Carlsbad Unified School District Board of Trustees for their leadership and tireless support of public education. I also want to thank district staff, site principals, and our amazing classified and certificated staff members — for making all of this possible — for being leaders in our community — and for inspiring our students.
This is what we mean by extraordinary and inspiring.
Dr. Benjamin Churchill
Carlsbad Unified School District