A new school year is underway for the Santa Maria-Bonita School District as it enters the second year of its five-year Bright Futures Project, a plan designed to create more consistency in instruction and expand resources for students and families.
Students returned to classrooms on Thursday, with parents and families marking the start of another school year.
For Nancy Hernandez, the focus this year is to continue learning.
“I want her to learn easily. I know she loves books, so I know they have a library,” Hernandez said.
Monica Montano, whose daughter is entering first grade, said she hopes her child has a positive experience.
“She’s going into first grade, so I am hopeful that she can get along with other kids,” Montano said. “She has an IEP, so it’s a little bit hard to let her go.”
The district is investing an estimated $1 million this academic year in the Bright Futures Project, according to Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services Maijue Lochungvu.
Lochungvu said the district partnered with an outside organization on a baseline study two years ago. The study found inconsistencies in instruction across the district.
“We needed consistency across the whole system where we have kids attending one school, switching schools the next week,” Lochungvu said. “They may be learning about nouns at one school and then they moved to another school and they’ve already moved on to something else like verbs. So we are creating a gap for our students unintentionally.”
As part of the project, students from transitional kindergarten through sixth grade will follow five common standards and five learning cycles. The district says the changes are not expected to increase students’ workloads.
For students with special needs, including those with an Individualized Education Program, or IEP, Lochungvu said the district will continue providing individualized support.
“A child who may have special needs, whether that be speech or maybe cognitive, is part of an IEP,” Lochungvu said. “We are meeting their needs based on their individual needs and their disability.”
The second year of the project also includes a $30 million investment to expand community schools. The goal is to bring resources and services to school campuses so students and families can access support in one location.
“Think about medical, so health care, dental, might be housing, it might be just having clothing for school,” Lochungvu said. “How we partner with the community to make sure that our students have the basic needs in order for them to really, when they show up at school, focus on learning.”
At Adam Elementary School, Principal Tamara Brown said the school will also create more opportunities for families to engage with the school community.
“We’re increasing our opportunities for parent engagement with parent education classes and family nights as well, where families can come to the school and have fun,” Brown said.
