Board Highlights May 3, 2022

Santee School District Board of Education Meeting Highlights
Posted on 05/06/2022

May 3, 2022 Regular Meeting

The Santee School District Board of Education met at 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 3, taking action on a total of 18 agenda items. Meeting highlights included:

Reports and Presentations

  • President Levens-Craig’s SSD Proud Moment highlighted PRIDE Academy’s recent and upcoming in-person events that have students and families excited to be back on campus. Read the full moment here.
  • The Board of Education honored a number of outstanding students in the Santee School District. Each school’s teaching and administrative staff have selected these students to be acknowledged for their accomplishments and to be recognized for the excellent effort they have demonstrated this school year and the wonderful role models they have been to others. Recipients included:
    o Carly Cox, Cajon Park
    o Danica Caballero, Carlton Hills
    o Rafael Martinez, Carlton Oaks
    o Benjamin De Koning, Chet F. Harritt
    o Nicholas Guedea, Hill Creek
    o Kailani Gonzaga, Pepper Drive
    o Devin Finch, PRIDE Academy
    o Israel Barrientos, Rio Seco
    o Makenzie Henderson, Sycamore Canyon

Discussion and Action Items

  • Board and administration recognized the need and excitement for parent participation on school campuses, which will begin this spring with outdoor family activities. The Board also provided direction to allow volunteers back inside the classroom as of May 23, 2022. Criteria for volunteering inside of the classroom will mirror requirements for employees. 
  • From August 2021 through February 2022 Santee School District teachers in grade 6 to grade 8 piloted State Board of Education approved science instructional materials. The pilot teacher committee researched and analyzed two instructional programs, Stanford SCALE and OpenSciEd. The Board approved the pilot committee’s recommendation to adopt and purchase Common Core-aligned instructional materials for OpenSciEd for grade 6 – grade 8. Providing students and teachers with science materials aligned to Next-Generation Science Standards will increase the focus and coherence of the district’s science program.
  • Mike Olander, Director of Pupil Services, presented the Screening to Care Initiative to the Board. This initiative aims to make available behavioral health interventions for all students in 7th and 8th grade through the use of a universal screening tool called the Social, Academic, Emotional, Behavior Risk Screener (SAEBRS). This tool will identify areas of need for students as well as at-risk students who do not meet the threshold of needing a formal referral to County Mental Health Services but require additional support. A Memorandum of Understanding will be brought forth at a future meeting for approval.

The next meeting of the Santee School District Board of Education will be at 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 17, 2022, in the Educational Resource Center, 9619 Cuyamaca, Santee.

Note: These are not official meeting minutes of the Board of Education but rather a brief recap of the Board’s actions. For official meeting minutes and a complete list of actions taken, visit bit.ly/3gejSgf.