‘The LCAP is our playbook:’ Glendale Unified sets its goals for the school season

School has only been in session for a few weeks, but local administrators are already clear about the goals they want to achieve by the end of the school year.

They outlined some of those goals during a school board meeting last week, specifically ones tied to instructing state standards, the first priority of seven in Glendale Unified’s Local Control and Accountability Plan, known as LCAP.

The plan was developed by local educators, administrators and parents to address the vast learning needs of Glendale’s 25,000 students.

“We know that every good team has a playbook. Like a sports team that refers to its playbook, the Glendale Unified School District has developed an LCAP. The LCAP is our playbook,” said Supt. Winfred Roberson Jr.

For the third straight year, Glendale students are learning new state standards under the LCAP, but they have only been tested by state officials in language arts and math. The students will take the pilot exam testing them on science standards this year, said Travis Collier, director of categorical programs for Glendale Unified.

Mathematics has emerged as one challenge that officials have highlighted as a key goal.

“Math is a tough one for our students. We definitely want to aim our efforts toward improving our students in math,” Collier said.

Officials expect that 65% of high school juniors enrolled in algebra II classes this year will pass the course with a ‘C’ or better, up from the 58% who passed last spring, according to a district report.

They also hope to raise students’ scores in math on the state standardized exam, from a 49% proficiency level to 54% for those who are in third through eighth grades as well as high school juniors.

State officials planned to release scores on the latest exam Wednesday morning.

One key aspect of helping students meet their goals is training teachers in the new math curriculum.

Over the summer, 300 elementary teachers participated in a three-day math training, said Janet Buhl, assistant director of professional development.

Another 50 secondary teachers participated in a five-day math and science training.

Math is not Glendale Unified’s only focus.

No matter the subject or grade level, Buhl said educators are intent on fostering critical thinking, communication, collaboration and creativity.

This year, educators are eager to secure new materials to teach the new social science and history standard, which covers the Armenian Genocide for students studying world history in the seventh and 10th grades.

Across Glendale’s 30 schools, more than 30 teachers have agreed to open up their classrooms as “learning labs” for other teachers to visit and observe them teaching lessons.

School officials are also intent on securing gains in the percentages of students who are reclassified from being an English learner to proficiency in English.

They expect to see 17.6% of English learners reclassify by the end of the school year, up from 15.6% last year.

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Kelly Corrigan, kelly.corrigan@latimes.com

Twitter: @kellymcorrigan