The Coronado Unified School District will add a “Dean of Students” at Village Elementary, beginning in fall 2026. According to Superintendent Karl Mueller, this person will serve as an educational administrator who focuses on managing student behavior, campus culture, and student support.
Mueller discussed the new position at the school board meeting on May 21, sharing that the person will work with principals, teachers, and parents. The goal is to foster a safe learning environment, resolve behavioral issues, and help young children build positive social and emotional skills, according to his board report.
He also sent out an email to Village Elementary parents announcing the change.
“This person will work closely with Principal Kuhns, Assistant Principal Braga, and Program Specialist Keehan as a team dedicated to ensuring that resources and time are maximized for student success and achievement,” he wrote.
Mueller said one of the objectives is to fine-tune the school’s disciplinary framework.
“By establishing clearer, tiered consequences and strengthening communication and collaboration with parents, we will ensure a unified approach to student conduct that supports both academic and personal growth across school and home,” said Mueller.
Trustee Alexia Palacios-Peters said she had received emails from parents and that it seemed like that Village Elementary could use a “reset.”
“We all want Village Elementary to have that good climate culture and that small-school feeling and that connectedness,” she said. “I’m hopeful that this pretty significant change will get us in the right direction.”
Trustee Rennee Cavanaugh said she was looking forward to the roll-out.
“I think it’s going to be a game-changer for students, teachers, and parents,” she said.
In addition, the district will add another clinical counselor, a reading intervention specialist and offer additional math intervention staffing to Village.
Technology in the classroom
Mueller said that the district is conducting a screen time audit to track the usage of instructional technology in the classroom. The goal is to ensure any technology serves a valid educational purpose, and isn’t being used simply to keep students occupied.
“We are very interested in gaging how many instructional minutes daily we use — by grade level — with the support of a device,” said Mueller. “I want to remind the community that this is something that we are deeply invested in.”
Mueller said more info on this audit would be coming in the fall.
In addition, the board approved the purchase of Faraday Wi-Fi blocking pouches that will be used next year at Coronado Middle School as part of the bell-to-bell ban on cell phones. Mueller said the district was excited to monitor and determine the effectiveness of the new plan.
“We know this [technology] is affecting our kids,” said Palacios-Peters. “Their brains aren’t fully developed.”
New policy approved for interdistrict transfers
The board also approved a new policy on interdistrict transfers. In the past, the district received funding for these interdistrict students, but under Basic Aid — the new funding model — CUSD absorbs the costs. Mueller said that the district will continue to honor current interdistrict transfer students.
“They will continue progressing through the grade levels if they are currently enrolled in our district and they are in good standing,” said Mueller. “But we are making very purposeful decisions about the admission of new transfer students, specifically in the areas of TK-8th grade.”
New IDTs will be able to transfer in based on space and availability, but the new policy prioritizes three subgroups: children of district employees, children of active duty military and students in grades 9-12 participating in the high school’s pathways programs.
“As we go to Basic Aid, we’ve made the decision that making our elementary school and middle school classes smaller is beneficial for students,” said Trustee Mal Sandie. “But we want to bring in IDTs to the high school to support our programs — we have 14 different career and technical education programs that we need to keep alive.”
New calendars approved
The board also approved new academic calendars for the 2027-2028 and 2028-2029 school years. The goal is to approve calendars three years out to give district stakeholders the opportunity to plan ahead.
“I think this will definitely help our families prepare for vacations and things like that,” said Trustee Cavanaugh. “It also aligns more closely with neighboring districts.”
Trustee Palacios-Peters said getting the calendars approved in advance will help military families moving to the district.
The calendars push up the first day of school to August 5 in fall 2027 and August 10 in 2028. The earlier start date is designed in part to allow Coronado High School students to have first semester finals before winter break.
New finance curriculum approved
The board approved the personal finance curriculum for a new course, which focuses on behavioral economics and consumer skills, including banking, credit, budgeting, investing, taxes and insurance, and paying for college. The new course is the result of a California state requirement that students complete a one-semester course in personal finance, beginning with the graduating class of 2030-2031.
The course, which follows the Next Generation Finance curriculum, offers free primary materials, allowing the district to focus budget resources on implementation and teacher training. According to the board report, research indicates that a one-semester personal finance course can result in a lifetime benefit of about $100,000 per student through improved credit scores, reduced debt, and increased savings.
Although the board voted 4-0 to approve the course, Trustee Fitz Lee shared that parts of the curriculum go beyond economics, and he wanted the community to be aware of this and the evolution of curriculum as the world of education changes.
Labor union reps says classified employees are treated unfairly
A representative from the CSEA, the Coronado chapter of the California School Employees Association, said that they are left out of key decision-making processes when it comes to matters that pertain to classified (non-teaching) employees. During public comments, a man who identified himself as Leo said Coronado employees were blindsided by a decision to restructure their roles during P.E.
He said they were informed they would be reassigned to different areas, with some assigned to a completely different classification of behavioral health care. He said this represents a big change in the working conditions of classified members.
“We’re here today to support the classified bargaining unit, to support the important work they do for our students, and ask that CSEA is given the respect they deserve,” he said.
Dianne Bechtel also spoke on behalf of the CSEA to express disappointment in how the classified retirement incentive profits process was handled.
“Many felt rushed, overlooked and undervalued,” she said. “This is not how loyal employees should end their careers.”
She also said that classified staff is consistently underpaid.
“Schools cannot function without bus drivers, instructional assistants, custodians, clerical staff, food services workers, maintenance workers, maintenance teams, and countless other classified professionals.”
Celebrations for student board representative and the Stop the Sewage Club
Haissam Kouli was recognized for his service as ASB President and student representative at his last board meeting of the year. He was presented with celebratory merch from Chapman University, where he will study film.
He introduced the new ASB President and student representative, Ines Gil.
In addition, the Stop the Sewage Club was named “Student Club of the Year” for the third year in the row. Club leaders Sean Wilbur and Danny Vinegrad accepted the award and acknowledged next year’s leaders, Andrea Reyes and Kleber Toala, along with Madden P. Cole and Daneille-Elizabeth Baah.
The Stop the Sewage Club is the largest student-run club at CUSD with more than 80 members. Club members have taken more than four trips to the state capital to advocate for a solution to the sewage crisis.
Trustee Scot Youngblood was unable to attend the board meeting due to travel. The next board meeting is scheduled for Thursday, June 11 at 4 pm at District Offices.
