The Arcadia Unified School District (AUSD) held its State of the District event at the Arcadia Performing Arts Center on May 10. The purpose of this event was to reiterate AUSD’s principles and share its accomplished goals with the community to celebrate the success of AUSD’s hard work.

Before Mrs. Leigh Chavez, the School Board President, opened the event, the Arcadia High School Orchestra provided a quartet that entertained waiting audience members with numerous renowned works of Beethoven.

Once the quartet finished, Mrs. Chavez opened the event with the Pledge of Allegiance and a personal introduction. She gave thanks for the opportunity to be this year’s School Board President and explained that the School Board Vice President, Mr. Fenton Eng, would not be able to make the meeting. 

Mrs. Chavez’s introduction was followed by an explanation of the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP). The plan is divided into six different sections: creating high-performing expert learners; providing an engaged, connected, and empowered safe and healthy school climate; using the Multi-Tiered System of Support through world-class instruction and support (looking at ways to support students at all levels); providing highly effective staff committed to all students; highlighting AUSD’s fiscal integrity (conservative budgeting); meeting state and county requirements. These goals were then backed up by the numerous speakers, mentioned below, who accompanied the Board of Education to prove that AUSD met all of these goals this year. Mrs. Chavez then passed the mic to Dr. David Vannasdall, the Superintendent.

Dr. Vannasdall emphasized AUSD’s transparency and explained the action strategy that the district has been utilizing: to only act when enough information ensures safety for each move. His explanation allowed audience members to understand not only the COVID-19 plan that the district is following but also the general plan about the budget, rules, and every aspect that AUSD manages.

After Dr. Vannasdall’s explanation, the audience was presented with a list of guest speakers. The first of which was Dr. Brent Forsee, the assistant Superintendent. Dr. Forsee talked about the importance of unity and lauded the strong education that Arcadia has provided during the pandemic. He emphasized the flexibility that all AUSD staff have presented during these hard times and congratulated every staff member for their dedication. Dr. Forsee then highlighted the consistency that AUSD has shown, especially in terms of providing free meals to students.

“Since the 2019-2020 school year, we distributed almost 700,000 meals to students and kids under 18 years old,” said Dr. Forsee. “We could not have done this without the help of teachers and staff, alike, who stood outside through sun and rain to distribute these meals. Thank you.”

“I was shocked,” commented senior Sanya Sheth, Arcadia High School (AHS) student, “I remembered sitting there with my mouth open in awe!”

Then, fellow senior Ava Woo, the Student Representative to the Board, talked about the importance of student voices regarding the Board of Education, bringing a student perspective. She mentioned the ways that people use school, even if it was over Zoom, to connect with others. Woo then proceeded to talk about the Food Science Club on campus, as well as the fundraisers that AHS administered last year.

After Woo finished her presentation, the audience was greeted by another quartet, the Arcadia High School Chanteurs, who sang a piece from Disney’s The Lion King, acapella-style. Directing them was Ms. Connie Tu, the director of the AHS Choir Department and assistant director of the AHS Orchestra.

The rest of the meeting included shorter presentations about the COVID-19 situation and what AUSD has done to ensure safe education. Here’s a list below in the order they presented:

Mr. Raymond Cheung, Board of Education Member: Talked about the risks that AUSD has to take in terms of innovation. Restated Mrs. Chavez’s explanation of the LCAP goals.

Mrs. Jennifer Vargo, Arcadia Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) President: Stressed the significance of parent collaboration during the pandemic and encouraged parents in the audience to get involved to continue the success that PTA has had in the last two years.

Dr. Andrea Mendoza, Coordinator of Instructional Integration: Talked about the accomplishment that the school had in terms of collecting data about student achievement—including student output regarding mental health—in partnership with the University of California, San Diego (UCSD).

Mr. Greg Gazanian, Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer: Highlighted the impact that COVID-19 had on their department and showed the audience the numerous ways that Gazanian took to ensure student safety. Told the audience what the department is currently doing in terms of the fight against COVID—keeping up with local regulations.

Dr. Kevin Hryciw, Head of Human Resources:  Shared that during the pandemic, the district filled 100% of needed staff spots and will continue to do so in the future.

Mr. Ryan Foran, Chief Communications Officer: Mentioned the internships available and emphasized all of the communication that the district has been sending home, from COVID-19 updates to general safety precautions.

Dr. Katherine Mahoney, Special Education Director: Presented a strong special education program although it is severely underfunded, and stressed the importance of the home environment in regards to special education.

Mr. Scott Bramley, Chief Technology Officer:  Informed on the usage of Chromebooks in the classroom and reflected on the changes that AUSD has faced due to new technology.

Mr. David Vong, Fiscal Services: Presented the budget structure that AUSD works with and talked about the fact that although AUSD is among the lowest publicly funded public schools in California, it has managed to thrive.

Mr. Barrios, Facilities and Operational Services Director: Talked about the hard work of staff to maintain a healthy and safe school environment.

Mrs. Kay Kinsler, Board of Education Member & Mrs. Shirley Yee, Board of Education Clerk: Gave concluding statements and asked the audience for any questions.

At the end, the Board thanked parents and community members for coming to the event and for caring about the education of students in AUSD.

“The matter of fact is,” exclaimed Dr. Vannasdall, ”that the state of the district is stronger than ever!”

Photo courtesy of AUSD