The trustees of the Coronado Unified School District met on Thursday, November 21 at 4 pm at district offices, where trustees discussed sweltering classroom temperatures, the Coronado High School annual report and a new grant from the Department of Defense. Later, the district’s new ethnic studies class came under fire.
Superintendent Karl Mueller was absent from the meeting after a threat of violence put three Coronado school campuses on lockdown; Deputy Superintendent Donnie Salamanca sat in his place.
At the start of the meeting, board president Alexia Palacios-Peters read a statement from the district about the lockdowns and shared some personal thoughts.
“I understand how emotionally-charged this was,” said Palacios-Peters. “It was tough to see, it was tough as a parent. Three of us have kids at the high school. This was scary today. We will continue as a board to look into our safety plan and our safety measures.”
Hot Classrooms
In his facilities report, Deputy District Superintendent Donnie Salamanca shared that the CUSD heat day policy is more than ten years old. He said the district is soliciting input and hopes to bring a revised policy to the board in December for potential approval in January 2025.
Several teachers shared their concerns about the conditions in school classrooms, including unbearably hot temperatures, windows that don’t open, lack of access to water fountains and OSHA-mandated “cool zones.”
Matt Smith, a teacher at CMS, said that he was frustrated with the district’s refusal to service portable air conditioners purchased by the district. He said he spends his own money fixing three air conditioning units in efforts to provide a workable learning environment for his students.
“But even then, they only go so far,” said Smith. “When the heat of the day hits, our students are demoralized. Their heads are down, they’re taking frequent water breaks, and it’s hard to get them excited about anything.”
Another teacher, who teaches first grade at Village Elementary said that, inside her classroom, three out of the four windows that are designed to open to let in cool air don’t actually open. The window that opens only opens a few inches.
Sarah Hunsaker, who teaches third grade at Village Elementary, expressed concerns about fans that don’t work, a lack of cross-air ventilation, no access to water stations or outdoor shade. She said these heat-related challenges result in reduced test scores, poor retention, a negative impact on learning and physical and mental discomfort. She asked for more hydration access, flexible scheduling and equitable relief across school sites.
“This is not a new topic of conversation,” she said. “I hope that we have no more studies, no more committees, no more talks, something needs to be done.”
Jennifer Landry, President of the Association of Coronado Teachers, said that the current heat day policy isn’t what’s best for teaching and learning at CUSD.
“We cannot expect students to function when we as adults can’t function,” she said. “We are red-faced, dripping in sweat, lethargic, light-headed, nauseous and more. We have young students who have a hard time regulating their bodies and temperatures who end up on the floor telling us they hurt.”
Later, Salamanca shared that the district stopped servicing portable air conditioning units due to unintended consequences like trip hazards, fire implications and electrical shortages. But he said that the board had approved two contracts to install two new air conditioning units in Village Hall over Thanksgiving break.
Trustees Mal Sandie and Whitney Antrim said the air conditioning needed to be a priority sooner, rather than later.
“Basic Aid is still a few years away, and it’s just going to get hotter,” said Antrim. “We need to do something about it now.”
Coronado High School Annual Report
CHS Principal Karin Mellina shared her annual report, noting that while the school is still suffering from a dip in enrollment, students are making rapid progress when it comes to college and career readiness. 79% of students met goals for college and career readiness compared to 72% from the previous year, while the state is at 45%. In addition, the percentage of students completing their A-G requirements—which makes them eligible for admission to University of California schools and California State Universities—have gone up 22% since 2019.
When it comes to testing, both PSAT and AP test scores are on the rise. Last year, 61% of students scored a 3, 4 or 5 on their AP tests, while 21% of students scored a 5.
“We’ve had some fantastic AP scores,” said Mellina. “Our pass rate at AP Chemistry continues to be 100%, our AP Biography has increased, all of our social sciences have increased.”
The number of students obtaining the State Seal of Biliteracy has also doubled since 2019, with 72 meeting requirements. In addition, the number of students completing Career and Technical Education pathways—which includes everything from the performing arts to health sciences to building and construction—is up from previous years. Mellina said that CHS students are enjoying access to new classes like AP Spanish Literature and Introduction to Robotics and Calculus III.
When it comes to areas of growth, Mellina shared that new vape sensors have been installed at the school, but this is also contributing to a higher suspension rate.
“We’ve had an uptick in suspension based on use of controlled substances…vaping and things like that,” she said. “Last year, we did put an intervention program in place with Safe Harbor to help support students.”
Mellina also noted a dip in CAASPP testing scores, especially when it comes to math. She noted challenges with “buy in” for busy juniors who are taking many other tests, along with the fact that most students take Integrated Math 1 and 2—the skills they are tested on—long before they actually engage with CAASPP testing.
“CAASPP testing follows AP testing, it follows a lot of other testing, and not all of the juniors are super invested in putting the effort into CAASPP,” she said. “There isn’t really an incentive.”
But even so, she said that CAASPP test scores are an indicator on the district dashboard, and the results impact how the school ranks.
New $1.5 Million Science Grant
According to Megan Battle, Director of Learning, the district is the recipient of a $1.5 million grant award to support Project Computer Science Plus. This marks the ninth grant from the Department of Defense (DoDEA). According to Battle, the grant will help fund a drone program where students can earn an FAA drone license, an E-Sports program at the middle school, and ultimately help students engage with higher-level learning related to fields like cybersecurity.
“This grant will help train our students for the careers of tomorrow, so congratulations for your team,” said trustee Antrim. “This is huge for our district.”
New Freshman Ethnic Studies Class
Later in the meeting, two CUSD parents spoke about the new ethnic studies course required of freshmen. They expressed concerns about course goals and lack of transparency for parents.
One parent of a CHS freshman said she had serious concerns and wanted her daughter to drop the class. She said her daughter was being taught that race was a social construct and asked to participate in an exercise about race-based privilege.
“I didn’t understand that my daughter was going to be taught critical race theory in an ethnic studies class,” she said. “Had I known, I would have come here sooner.”
Mandy Pagon, a mother of a child in the class, said that she had “grave concerns” about the class and was not able to obtain much information about course goals.
“I’m asking you to increase the transparency of this class and focus on the positive contributions of multi-colorism and stop teaching our kids that our nation was founded on lies,” she said.
CoSA Founder Celebrated
Earlier in the meeting, the board celebrated the life of Kristine McClung, the founder of the Coronado School of the Arts (CoSA) who recently passed. Trustee Antrim called her an “iconic Islander” who helmed every high school musical and stagecraft class and brought her own unique vision to fruition when she launched CoSA.
“CoSA’s innovative model has brought the love of art, music, dance, drama, graphic arts, stagecraft and more into the homes and hearts of countless students,” said Antrim. “Her legacy lives on in the creativity of the lives and the students she has touched.”
McClung’s celebration of life will take place on December 7 at the Coronado Performing Arts Center. She asked that in lieu of flowers, community members send donations to the CoSA Foundation.
Last Meeting for Trustee Antrim
The meeting marked the last for trustee Antrim, who served as a board member for four years. She did not seek reelection. Palacios-Peters commended Antrim for her dedication to the role during COVID and her willingness to help four new trustees in 2022. Cavanaugh also complimented Antrim for her passion and energy.
“She has been a passionate advocate for student engagement and mental health supports,” said Cavanaugh. “She’s always prepared for meetings and never hesitates to bring up ideas that need addressing.”
Trustee Scot Youngblood said that the last four years had been “eventful,” and celebrated Antrim’s commitment to her work.
“We may have had different approaches at certain times, but I’ve always respected the amount of the work and the preparedness that you bring to the job,” said Youngblood. “I think our community is better for it, so thank you.”
Trustee Sandie commended Antrim for spearheading the committee for “Keeping Kids Safe Online,” noting that she did so ahead of recommendations from the state.
“You’ve served through some difficult times, including Tortilla-Gate and Covid, and when both you and your husband were working full-time as lawyers with two small children,” said Sandie. “You have helped us so tremendously, and your family has had to deal with stressors that you shouldn’t have had to deal with.”
Community member Jean Seager said that Antrim, like many other elected officials, was the victim of threats and harassment during her time in office. She urged community members to call out the bad actors and shame them into silence.
“Let’s extend a compassionate word of support to people on both sides of the political spectrum who you know have been hurt by these types of activities,” she said. “These people are our neighbors Let’s look in the mirror and see if we can do better.”
The next regularly-scheduled board meeting will take place on Friday, December 13 at 4 pm.
