At the October 24 meeting of the Sacramento City Unified School District Board, the Board recognized four students who attend Mark Twain Elementary School as SCUSD Stellar Students:

• Fourth grade student Jaime Ramos, who loves to learn. He sets personal goals for his I-Ready scores and is especially excited to learn new math concepts. Jamie is one of the top chess players in his class and is a powerful role model to his classmates. 

• Sixth grade student Leonel (Leo) Franco Ramos, who has become a leader on campus and exemplifies strong character with a gentle heart. He helps students when they need a hand and uses kind and respectful language inside and outside of the classroom. Students and staff know they can rely on Leo. 

• Sixth grade student Kanoa Griffin is a kind and compassionate student with a great sense of humor. He checks in on his friends, peers, and teachers throughout the day. His attention during conversations is genuine and he really listens. Kanoa’s conversation topics and writing responses reflect his wit and gregarious personality.

• Sixth grade student Keriyn (KJ) Gilbert, one of his school’s most vocal and outgoing leaders, comes to school daily with positive energy and a willingness to learn. She takes on leadership roles to support the school with a great attitude and an infectious smile. KJ lifts the energy wherever she goes.

The Board took action to approve two Resolutions:

• Recognizing October 21-25 as National School Bus Safety Week to promote the importance of school bus safety and celebrate SCUSD’s Transportation Department for all they do for our students.

• Recognizing October as Filipino American History Month. Filipino Americans are the second-largest Asian American group in the nation and the third-largest ethnic group in California, after Latinos and African Americans. While discussing this action, the Board presented a certificate of recognition to the Philippine National Day Association, an organization founded in Sacramento to empower, mentor, and provide leadership development for students.

The Board received informational updates from District staff on two topics:

• SCUSD’s Culture and Climate Framework, which is an academic priority for SCUSD. This framework is designed to create safe, inclusive learning environments for students and adults. During the presentation, SCUSD staff provided an overview of resources developed and curated by the District’s Culture and Climate team that are tailored to support students and staff in fostering environments that reflect SCUSD’s shared commitment to anti-racism, equity, inclusivity, and social justice. In discussing this work with the Board, SCUSD staff held up a toy stuffed elephant, “Humphrey,” which has served as an activating aid to help staff in the District’s ongoing efforts to address systemic racism, which the Board has described as the “elephant in the room.”

• Data on SCUSD student scores on standards-aligned tests. Data informed decision making is essential to SCUSD’s work to achieve the District’s LCAP goals. 

The Board held an informational Public Hearing on a charter renewal petition submitted by Sol Aureus College Preparatory. The school is requesting to renew the term of its charter, which expires on June 30, 2026. The Board is expected to take action on the charter renewal petition at the November 21, 2024, SCUSD Board meeting. 

More detail on all of these items can be found at https://www.scusd.edu/boe102424.

 For more information about the SCUSD Board of Education, including the schedule for future Board meetings and to submit a public comment at future meetings, please visit https://www.scusd.edu/board-education.

The next SCUSD Board meeting will be held on November 7. The open session of the meeting will begin at 6:00 p.m. at the Serna Center, 5735 47th Avenue, in the Community Room. The meeting can also be viewed online on SCUSD’s YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@SCUSDofficial/live.