With the 2024/25 school year underway, Beverly Hills Unified School District staff and educators updated the BHUSD Board of Education on the district’s 2024/25 strategic plan during the Aug. 27 board meeting.
BHUSD Superintendent Dr. Michael Bregy said the draft strategic plan is usually presented during a board study session, but he decided to review the plan during a regular board meeting to ensure accountability as the district strives to meet its goals.
“You should have awareness of the goals that we have as a school district,” Bregy said. “We’re proud of the work that we’re doing. It’s tough work. It’s necessary work, and as we begin to move into this cycle, we’re going to share with you this timeline.”
This year’s plan slated for final approval in September has an overarching theme of “Educational Excellence,” which has three main components: supporting positive student behavior, engaging students in learning, and growing and developing professionally.
“This is kind of where the rubber meets the road,” Bregy said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do in front of us, [but] I do believe we have the right people in the right places to make this happen.”
The principals of each school presented their individual plans for achieving the district’s goals, and while the details differed, there was broad overlap of each of the school’s priorities. Each stressed the need to routinely monitor students’ academic progress throughout the year and offer specialized help to those struggling.
They emphasized the need to pay similarly close attention to students’ mental health and behavioral issues. In El Rodeo Elementary School, staff will use Aeries to measure discipline referrals, and are aiming for a 10% reduction. At Beverly Vista Middle School, staff will collect data on Classroom Managed Behavior and Admin Managed Behaviors and will implement “substitute protocols” to improve substitute effectiveness.
Each school also set a goal of reaching at least 95% attendance and identified different ways to monitor absenteeism rates. At Beverly Hills High School, staff will share monthly attendance goals with teachers and counselors, and partner with the Parent Teacher Student Association for attendance celebrations and awards.
District principals also discussed their schools’ scores in the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress, which measure if students meet or exceed state educational standards. In 2023/24, the percentage of El Rodeo Elementary School students who met or exceeded state standards in English language arts was 79%, up from 75% in 2023/22, but still below the 80% measured in 2021/22, Principal Sarah Kaber said.
For the 2024/25 school year, Kaber wants to top that year’s performance, and set a goal of 82%.
In math, El Rodeo students have shown more improvement. Last year 78% of students met or exceeded state standards, up from 74% in 2023/22 and 69% in 2021/22. This year, Kaber hopes to reach 81%, she said.
At Horace Mann Elementary School, the percentage of students meeting or exceeding state standards in English language arts dropped to 71% last year, down from 72% in 2022/23 and 74% in 2021/22. In 2024/25, Principal Ontrece Ellerbe is hoping to turn things around, with a goal of 76% percent, she said.
In math, scores have been steadier. 64% of students have met or exceeded state standards in both 2023/22 and 2022/23, down from 65% in 2021/22. This year, Ellerbe is aiming for 69%
Beverly Vista Middle School Principal Richard Waters, meanwhile, said CAASPP scores had declined for almost all grade levels since the 2021/22 school year, although eighth graders have improved by almost 10 percentage points in that time.
At Beverly Hills High School, students’ English language arts CAASSP scores fell to 64% from 71% in 202/21, while their math scores increased to 49% from 42% in the same time period.
“We don’t love seeing that number stay below 50%, so we’re going to talk about some ways in which we’re going to [improve] that,” BHHS Principal Drew Stewart said.
Stewart also noted a juxtaposition between the student’s CAASP scores and AP test scores. Last year, out of 438 AP students, 368 (84%) scored above a three on the AP test. Since AP classes can count as college credits, thereby reducing the cost of tuition, students might be more determined to perform on those tests, Stewart said.
Board President Dr. Amanda Stern added that test scores should not be seen as the only indication of a student’s aptitude, as some students struggle with taking tests even if they grasp the material.
