Santa Barbara Unified School District hosts State of Our Schools event citing improvements in learning

The Santa Barbara Unified School District shared its improvements in student math and reading test scores, as well as the addition of coaching programs for teachers during its annual State of Our Schools event on Friday. 

Superintendent Hilda Maldonado said the test score data speaks for itself. 

“Our data shows real progress, our students are recovering academic ground,” Maldonado said. “Our intervention models are delivering results for our lowest performing students.” 

The event was held at 8 a.m on Friday at the Cabrillo Recreation Center, where staff, teachers and activists listened to several presentations from the district. The district provided muffins, pastries and drip coffee.

The district saw a 6.5% point gain in English language arts test scores compared to last school year, a 5.8% point increase in math scores and a 2.1% point gain in science, according to data presented at the event.   

Maldonado said the district was above the state average for English language learner test scores. 

The event comes as Maldonado recently announced her resignation from the school district effective June 2027, following six years of controversy that included debates on teacher salaries, proposed cuts to art programs, and student walkouts. 

Maldonado struck a positive tone during Friday’s event 

“I feel so proud of all that we have accomplished as a school district,” Maldonado told the News-Press after the event.

But Maldonado said “the brutal facts” of what families are experiencing as housing costs increase and federal immigration enforcement continues to pull loved ones apart could not go unannounced. 

“Some children are sitting at their desk wondering if their parents will still be home when the bell rings at 3 o’clock,”  Maldonado said. “While others are looking forward to a football game, or a birthday party.”

She said the district has continued to steadily close the learning gap between Latino students and all others over the last five school years.

Last year, 45% of Latino students required minimal to high support in math, while 34% of all students needed the support. In 2021, 50% of Latino students compared to 39% of all students needed the support, according to slides presented at the event. 

Still, the district says it is headed in the right direction. 

AVID, a non-profit educational support program, aims to close the opportunity gap among first-generation students and others in the district, said Albert Martinez, who oversees the program. 

“These initiatives are working,” Martinez said. “We need our students to push forward and achieve that higher education as a whole.”

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