We are excited to welcome back our students and staff for the 2024-25 school year! I’d like to take a moment to reflect on our school site and district achievements from the past year and share some of our upcoming plans. To start, we're introducing our updated Mission Statement, which now aligns more closely with our district strategic plan which was developed through our new District Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP).
WSCUHSD Mission Statement
“The mission of the West Sonoma County Union High School District (WSCUHSD) is to provide equitable, high-quality instruction and opportunities that ensure all students have the tools they need to thrive.”
Student Support Services
Wellness Center
Socio-emotional and mental health supports for students include a Wellness course and Physical Education alternatives including a new Mindful Movement option. In addition, through our partnership with West County Health, we provide clinical support with licensed therapists, a Wellness Center, Academic Support classes, 3 full-time MFT Outreach Therapists, as well as wrap-around mental health and support services for students. Services are based on strong community partnerships. Students can visit our Wellness Center for health education support and resources, behavioral health services including counseling and support groups, and medical services.
Student Clothing Closet at Analy and Laguna
The Clothing Closet offers students at both school sites clothes, jackets, shoes, and personal necessity items free of charge for any student, any time. The Closets are set up boutique style and are open for “shopping” once or twice a week.
Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) Initiatives/Restorative Culture
Efforts to enhance students’ sense of belonging extend beyond the innovations in the instructional program to include thoughtful policies, new practices, and dedicated personnel. Our DEI coordinator works to support both students and staff in self-advocacy and understanding, and a new student-created video series will help to raise awareness around where students can go for redress and support around bullying, harassment, and discrimination. Professional development for all staff this year will include unconscious bias, self- and co-regulation, and restorative culture training. Student groups will also be working with community organizations including Community Matters, to create a more inclusive campus culture. We’ve hired a second full-time bilingual family engagement facilitator, and a teacher team worked this summer to translate our math curriculum into Spanish. Our peer-coaching program continues the transformational work of coaching for equity for our teachers. Campus committees continue to work with data to see where we can improve.
Summer Facilities Projects Updates
Analy Campus
Summer of 2024 was a busy one at the Analy HS campus, with approximately $10 Million in construction projects, with primary focus on bringing Air Conditioning to the beautiful historic main building; in addition roofing of the East Wing, Industrial Arts, and Cafe took place along with heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) additions to all of those spaces. In partnership with the City of Sebastopol, the addition of a pedestrian crosswalk was installed between Taft and Sunset to allow for the safety of our students crossing between campuses. We cannot thank the City enough for prioritizing this project and our students' safety. Many thanks to the County and District Supervisor Hopkins as well for helping with securing funding for this project.
Laguna Campus
Laguna High School has recently undergone several key facility upgrades, including replacing some classroom rooftops and enhancements to our HVAC systems to ensure a comfortable learning environment year-round. Additionally, we’re excited to introduce new signage across the campus, giving the school a refreshed look while still honoring the proud traditions of the former El Molino High School.
Laguna High School over the past several years has had various roof and HVAC replacement projects at the Library, J Building, and C Building. This summer the District participated in the CalShape state funded grant program to replace all the thermostats at this campus and District-wide.
There are future projects planned at this campus to replace the F building HVAC/Roofing system along with replacement of the boiler that serves the Gym and D building. These updates are part of our ongoing commitment to providing a safe, modern, and welcoming space for our students and staff.
Upcoming Facility Projects
Analy NEW Career Technical Education Buildings (Spring 2025)
The District will be starting a new construction project in Spring 2025 with a new, state-of-the-art Career Technical Education. The new building will provide authentic work spaces for students in our Advanced Manufacturing, Agricultural Mechanics, and Culinary and Hospitality pathways, and will also feature an indoor-outdoor event space. This facility will be approximately 13,000 square feet of one story buildings providing a super fabrication studio which consists of 8 welding booth stations, 6 gas welding stations, and various other equipment related to advanced manufacturing and agricultural mechanics. There will be collaboration rooms, an innovation technology classroom, a science classroom, a culinary kitchen classroom/hospitality space with adjoining auxiliary spaces, three flex classrooms, and new staff and student restrooms.
Education Services Updates
Increased District Wide CAASPP scores
Despite the challenges that Sonoma County High School districts have experienced with CAASPP scores in the post pandemic era, there is a bright spot in West County. On the 2023 Dashboard, the Academic Indicator in ELA showed growth and above standard performance in ELA. The Academic Indicator in math, also showed growth. ELA increased by 70.8 points to 28.2 points above standard and math increased overall by 53 points.
West County iAcademy
We are excited to announce the launch of the new West County iAcademy Independent Study Program, designed to meet the evolving needs of our West County students. This program offers a flexible and personalized learning experience, allowing students to progress at their own pace while receiving the academic support they need. Recognizing the demand for more tailored educational options, we have invested in this model to ensure that every student can succeed in a learning environment that best suits their needs.
Our dedicated Independent Study teacher will be mobile between both the Analy and Laguna campuses, meeting with students one-on-one to provide personalized instruction and guidance. This mobility ensures that students in the program have access to the support they need, regardless of their location. By launching the West County iAcademy, we are reaffirming our unwavering commitment to providing diverse and accessible educational opportunities for all students in our community, making them feel included and valued. Students can earn a diploma from Analy High School or Laguna High School depending on their individual academic needs. Students enrolled in the Analy program are also afforded the opportunity to participate in all extra curricular activities that are offered at Analy High School, including interscholastic athletics, clubs etc.
Laguna Big Picture Program
Laguna High School is now in its second year of implementing the innovative Big Picture Learning model, which has transformed the way our students engage with their education. By focusing on interest-based learning, we encourage students to explore their passions and tie them directly to academic standards. This approach not only makes learning more relevant and exciting for our students but also helps them develop a deeper understanding of how their interests connect to real-world applications. We aim to create a more personalized and meaningful educational experience, empowering students to take ownership of their learning and better prepare for their future careers and life beyond high school.
Analy Ed Program Development
This fall, Analy teachers are implementing profound and innovative instructional shifts designed to enhance students’ sense of belonging on campus and to provide relevant learning experiences that develop valuable skills. Two pilot programs will see teams of teachers with students in common collaborate to create customized learning experiences for their students:
Special education teachers will work along-side colleagues in Math, Science, and English classrooms to enhance the accessibility of the curriculum for all students.
Teams of teachers in elective and core subjects will collaborate to develop interest-based curriculum and common learning experiences for cohorts of students that they will share and get to know well.
In addition, students will have new opportunities to earn college credit while they are still on campus at Analy. Analy teachers will be teaching college courses on our campus this fall through a collaboration with Santa Rosa Junior College, and a new course will allow students to earn early college credit through internships.
District Negotiations
The District experienced a positive negotiation season settling on tentative agreements with both our West Sonoma County Teachers Association and our CSEA labor partners in one session. Through this agreement, we were able to create a salary schedule for our WSCTA members that is second to none in Sonoma County. West County is a destination district for students and staff.
For the second straight year, WSCUHSD is fully staffed in all positions district-wide with high quality professionals.
ACSA, the Association of California School Administrators has included a piece on our negotiations with WSCTA in the current edition of EdCal. EdCal is a monthly magazine published by ACSA for California administrators. ACSA was impressed with our recent success with regard to negotiations. They have re-published the article that was covered by Dale Dougherty in the Sebastopol Times. This is available online at the following link: https://edcal.acsa.org/6-24-24
We are looking forward to implementing and executing our strategic plan as we begin this new year together. I hope you all have an amazing start to the 2024-25 school year.
Sincerely,
Chris Meredith, Superintendent