Coronado High School is currently boasting a 100% graduation rate, with 84% of graduating students ranking high in “college and career readiness,” according to CHS Principal Karin Mellina. She shared her CHS high school report at the October 15 school board meeting of the Coronado Unified School District.
“Look at those numbers, they have just gone up over the years,” said Mellina, referring to the increase in college and career readiness, which went up from 81% last year.
She said the CHS enrollment is down from 1041 students in 2022-2023 to 992 this year. But there’s a silver lining.
“Our enrollment numbers have definitely gone down, but with that comes smaller class sizes, which is very nice,” said Mellina. “And more specific individualized attention for the students in those classrooms.”
About 25% of students are interdistrict transfers, and 16% are Coronado School of the Arts students, according to Mellina. About 77% of students have met the A-G requirements, which are high school courses students must take to qualify for admission to UC and California state schools.
When it comes to state testing, CHS is in the “blue” across the board on the state dashboard, which is the highest level. The district has also seen a decrease in its D and F rates.
CHS currently offers 14 different pathways, from biomed to computer science and engineering, including nine pathways for CoSA. CHS also offers capstone project opportunities, allowing students to show mastery on a specific topic of their choice.
When it comes to updated phone policy, Mellina reported that the new cell phone lockboxes at the high school are big success. While CHS has a new “cell phone referral form” for kids who break the cell phone rules, there have only been 12 referrals since school started.
“The kids have been amazing,” said Mellina. “It’s a complete game changer. They walk right into class and put that phone in.”
District-wide technology review
In his Superintendent Report, Karl Mueller addressed the use of technology in classrooms after a review revealed new data. The “technology audit” was designed to establish baseline data on the use of educational technology integration, daily screen time, safety guardrails, and emerging technology like AI.
According to Mueller, there is a big disparity between how much technology parents think is being used in the classroom — and what teachers actually report.
“A significant perception gap exists at the middle and high school levels, where parents estimate that students spend 90 to 120 minutes actively using Chromebooks per day or engage in continuous use across class periods,” reads the report.
According to the review, the “vast majority of CUSD certificated staff report that daily student device use is low, highly structured, and targeted.”
In elementary grades, teachers report that students spend less than 30 minutes on devices per day, primarily in short, targeted blocks. Across all grade levels and subject areas, 80% of instructional tasks rely on physical materials.
The report recommended preserving tactile and physical learning, which includes a strong commitment to authentic student voice, peer to peer discussion and collaboration, physical books and novels, and maintaining handwriting stamina.
Secondary teachers caution reliance on AI, warning against “cognitive surrender” and decrease of creative and critical thinking, logic, and academic resilience, while parents express concern regarding after-hours Chromebook usage.
Mueller said the district has restricted student YouTube access at secondary levels to only content vetted by staff for educational purposes.
A “deep dive” into HVAC
Mueller shared that the district took a “deep dive” into existing studies on facilities and historical temperature data, in hopes of developing a concrete game plan to get air conditioning for Coronado schools. But the historical data doesn’t really account for recent weeks of intense heat.
“We’ve never seen anything like we’ve seen this year, so this is a very timely committee and a very timely conversation,” said Mueller.
He said the district is committed to prioritizing the health and safety of staff and students.
“We are doing our best to look long term to what we can do to address not only temperatures in the classroom but facility infrastructure,” said Mueller.
Trustee Fitz Lee — who serves on the HVAC committee with Trustee Renee Cavanaugh, shared that, historically speaking, there have been only a few heat days a year.
“That’s important because the money we will spend on doing this is about $40-$70 million,” said Lee.
Trustee Mal Sandie said that it will all come down to the infrastructure.
“We need to have the infrastructure to have the perfect, optimal learning environment,” he said.
Other board happenings
- The district unveiled the new “Discipline Dashboard” which documents discipline incidents on a monthly basis, shared to parents via email newsletter.
- CUSD is piloting a volunteer training at the elementary schools. One of the biggest challenges is ensuring parents and community members working in the classroom understand how to protect student privacy and information.
- The district shared a proposed policy regarding E-bikes and E-scooters. The policy says that E-bikes and E-scooters are prohibited in grades TK through 5. While students above the age of 12 may ride E-bikes to school, they must participate in a district-approved E-bike safety program and obtain a permit. The item will brought back for action at next month’s board meeting.
- The Coronado School of the Arts presented the district with a check for $200,000 to help the district continue to support the arts.
- In the student board member report, the student representative shared that Coronado Village Elementary School has halted the “zoned recess” approach, which previously required students to use wristbands and play in designated zones for recess.
The next regularly scheduled board meeting will take place on Thursday, November 12.
