Superintendent's Message
Dear Parents and Guardians,
With the start of the 2022-23 school year underway, the Board of Trustees wanted to reach out to the Lammersville Unified education community to express their deepest gratitude for the supportive commitment to education we have experienced over the past couple of years. In all, working together, we accomplished much. The entirety of families, parents and community members were asked to adapt to changing school system mandates with regularity that required patience and trust. The challenges brought on by the pandemic were real and required of district staff, at all levels, to persevere. Our teachers learned new ways to deliver world class instruction, support staff fed thousands, kept our facilities clean and functional, while adhering to evolving state and local guidelines. Most importantly, our students were asked to learn in ways out of the norm and through methodologies that often did not include being with their friends and teachers.
Our collective efforts have paid off. Reports of significant learning loss among substantial numbers of students across our nation and state have caused grave concern. It can be reported that LUSD test scores WENT UP over the course of the pandemic. Based on the results of the California Assessment of Student Progress and Performance (CAASPP), the overall district numbers will increase in English/Language Arts (ELA), Math, and Science. The exact numbers have not officially been sanctioned by the State; however, the data that exists shows that student’s performance across the district “at or above standard” will increase in all three categories measured and reported by the state. Also, the results of students who were not meeting standard in our district also decreased in the same time period; meaning that there are less struggling students today in our district than there were two years ago. Congratulations to all!
In spite of this very good news, our work is not done. At the Wednesday, September 7 Board meeting, district staff provided for the Board and community an overview of the multi-various learning opportunities provided by the district for our students (September 7, 2022 Board Presentation ). Our work starts by building plans and implementing initiatives that are designed to fit within the three district goal areas: 1) Systematic Closure of Student Opportunity Gaps 2) Instruction and Curriculum Efficacy 3) 21st Century Outcomes and Stakeholder Communication. In the 2022-23 school year, there will be three focus areas that fall within each goal districtwide. Goal 1: We will strengthen our district’s Professional Learning Communities (PLC) by modernizing its practices through the Impact Teams model; Goal 2: We will re-emphasize the best practices in “good first time teaching” based on our award winning professional development programs. Goal 3: We will conduct an analysis of our instructional programs’ impact based on how each are benefitting our students. This effort is intended to identify the impact our systems are having on students not at standard or who need additional opportunities to learn from our educational programs.
Lammersville Unified School District offers to its students many award winning programs ranging from the Early College Pathway Program to Project Lead the Way; Science Olympiad to Mock Trial; Speech and Debate to HOSA (Health Occupations Students of American); Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) to Athletics. There are currently over 100 active clubs at Mountain House High School and well-rounded elective opportunities at each of our K-8s. Our teachers work diligently to provide high level instruction daily and many then provide academic, VAPA, or athletic opportunities after school. Our district teachers, leaders, and staff pride ourselves in providing an educational program that gives to all students well rounded opportunities to learn and experience the best of what schools have to offer.
We have come through the most difficult challenges of the pandemic and come out the other side with higher test scores. Our schools are focused on building upon what has made our district the highest performing school district in the County and beyond. We will continue to strive to improve the impact of our work on each student academically, social-emotionally, and experientially. Our students have benefited from our education community coming together to meet their needs. As we move forward, we enter this school year with plans to make our goals a reality. To all who have helped LUSD rise to the occasion, we thank you.
Dr. Kirk Nicholas
Superintendent