Hugs and smiles filled the vestibule outside a packed assembly hall in Salinas as staff from Monterey County’s largest elementary school district reunited after summer break for the district’s annual back-to-school address.
Days before students return to class, teachers, classified employees and other personnel heard inspiring words from administrators and students along with a keynote address that included a mariachi performance at the Salinas City Elementary School District event Aug. 3.
Recognitions were also given to employees who have worked five years or more in the district. The crowd cheered when head custodian and the district’s longest serving employee, Henrynhuan Trinh was recognized for his 40 years of service.
Superintendent Rebeca Andrade, addressing the full assembly, said the new school year would build on work begun in previous years, with a continued focus on meeting key reading and math achievement benchmarks.
“We are not starting anything new,” Andrade said. “We all believe that every one of our children deserves a quality education and they want to see that in each and every one of our classrooms—that’s where belonging, consistency and coherence comes in.”
Salinas City Elementary School District serves about 8,300 students in 15 schools, from preschool to sixth grade.
Since the end of the pandemic, the district has undertaken a broad effort to match curriculum delivered at these earlier grades to the skills and competencies that students will need to be successful in high school and beyond.
As part of that, the district last year created the “5-3-5 Promise,” which states that all students perform at or above grade level in mathematics by fifth grade, all students read at or above grade level by third grade, and all English Learners “reclassify”—meaning they pass a test that signifies they are English language proficient—after five years.
While work continues on improving overall state test scores, district officials believe this work is bearing fruit.
Incentive programs like the one offered by the Golden Ticket Foundation, which awards $250 to students who score at or above grade level in reading on their state test at the end of third grade, was given to 239 students last year. This year 257 students will receive the award, a number that is expected to grow later this month when the Spanish-language results are released.
Andrade said that continued progress in the classroom requires everyone to be in alignment.
“It’s not just those in the classroom or the administrators in each school,” Andrade said. “It’s the bus driver that sees our children the first thing before they even start school, the cafeteria workers giving nourishment, its every one of us.”
The theme of coherence was picked up by the event’s keynote speaker, Richard Carranza, a lifelong educator who began his career as a bilingual social studies and music teacher in Arizona before moving into administration.
Carranza served as the superintendent of the Houston Independent School District, the largest school district in Texas, and before that was the superintendent of the San Francisco Unified School District.
In his most high-profile role, Carranza served as the Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education, the nation’s largest school system with 1.1 million students in over 1,800 schools across the city’s five boroughs.
In his address, Carranza juxtaposed his experiences leading a large school district during cataclysmic events—Hurricane Harvey in Houston, the beginning of the COVID pandemic in New York City, with lessons he learned growing up as the son of a sheet metal worker and hairdresser in Arizona.
In one of the assembly’s most memorable moments, Carranza invited a mariachi group to the stage as they performed through the crowd. An accomplished mariachi musician, he showed that just as musicians create beautiful music when they play in harmony, schools thrive when teachers, staff and administrators work together.
“Imagine we enter this year saying to our community—we are the best elementary school system in California—imagine the power of that,” Carranza said. “Because everyone is already looking, imagine the power of giving them something to look at as we do this work.”
When asked what she was most looking forward during this school year, Andrade said it was strengthening the sense of connection and belonging across our entire school community.
“Every student deserves to feel seen, valued and supported, and every family should know they are an essential part of their child’s educational journey,” Andrade said. “This year, I’m also excited to see our students gain confidence and find their voice through the meaningful relationships they build with teachers, staff and fellow students.”
She added: “We know that when students feel they belong, they’re more confident, more engaged and better able to thrive academically and personally.”
This article originally appeared on Salinas Californian: Salinas schools push for reading and math success ahead of new year
Reporting by Roseann Cattani, Salinas Californian / Salinas Californian
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Roseann Cattani, Salinas Californian | USA TODAY Network
