The Cordova High School auxiliary gym was filled with community leaders, city officials, educational leaders and students Wednesday morning as the Folsom Cordova Unified School District (FCUSD) presented its annual State of Our Schools event and breakfast.
The event opened with attendees enjoying student-served and breakfast burritos while experiencing performances from the Cordova music program.
The program opened with Angela Griffin, FCUSD director of communications and community engagement welcoming guests and recognizing the many dignitaries in attendance. Griffin then welcomed David Reed of the FCUSD Board to the podium for a few words as well as Anna Ballard who spoke on behalf of Intel and their longtime involvement with FCUSD.
Following a welcome message and thank you to the school district’s community partners by Folsom Cordova Unified School District Board President Chris Clark, Superintendent Sarah Koligian, Ed. D delivered the keynote address, which was the first in person State of the Schools event since 2020 when such events fell under health restrictions.
“The last time we all were together like this was March of 2020, just before our world changed, “ said Koligian. “It’s so great to all be back together here today.”
Photo by Bill Sullivan ©
Photo by Bill Sullivan ©
Photos: Bill Sullivan
Koligian opened her presenting with a discussion about “opening doors,” an Implementation Template for Cultural Proficiency. She detailed a few key points as to what Opening Doors looks like for the FCUSD which include: moving about campus without health restrictions, providing smooth inroads for students to succeed; welcoming an inclusive environment; focusing on attendance and providing access to opportunities and support for student success.
Following her opening, Koligian went on to detail statistics from the previous year across the FCUSD. Some of the high points were the fact that the FCUSD reported a 93.6% attendance rate in the past year and a 94% graduation rate. The district reported 13% State Seal of Biliteracy Rate with over 80 different languages being spoken across its combined multiple campuses.
Currently, the district is educating over 21,000 students, a number that continues to grow daily in its communities. Its employees over 2,400 educators and support staff and is operating 36 different schools. Among those are 21 elementary schools, one virtual academy for grades K-12, one K-8 Charter School, four middle schools, three comprehensive high schools, two continuation schools, one independent study high school, a community day school, adult school and a state preschool program.
In 2022, three of the district’s schools earned honors from the California PBIS Coalition. Award recipients for the year were Mills Middle School, Natoma Station Elementary School and Mangini Ranch Elementary School.
Photo by Bill Sullivan ©
Photos: Bill Sullivan
The presentation recognized the continued success of local students in the Sacramento County Athletic Decathlon earlier this year. She also highlighted the districts Career Technical Education program. Today the program offers 20 different career pathways in 10 different industry sectors. In summer internships alone, the program had 2,832 participants.
Much of Wednesday’s presentation focused around expansion and growth across the district. Koligian shared the news that the district has applied for Community Schools grant funding. The Community Schools program meets students’ needs by expanding resources at school and in the community. The program also provides more diverse mentoring and enrichment opportunities and increases daily attendance.
The program addresses for pillars that include integrated student supports; family and community engagement; collaborative leadership and practices and extended learning time and opportunities.
“Seven of our 11 schools qualified for the program this year, if granted it will provide $9.5 in grant funding over the next five years, “she explained. “We plan to apply for the grant for the remaining schools in the next round of funding.”
As the communities of Rancho Cordova and Folsom continue to undergo rapid growth, the future of the FCUSD included a great deal of expansion. On May 16 the district will officially break ground on Alder Creek Elementary School in the Folsom Rancho area, which is part of district 3.
Future growth in the area projects that the district will enlarge by at least 17,189 pupils. The district will serve the needs of the community by bringing additional schools to the Folsom-Cordova region, including 16 elementary schools, four middle schools and two high schools.
“It seems like every single day more communities are coming up out of the ground, “ said Koligian. “District staff continues to work with developers and city staff of Folsom and Rancho Cordova on site developments.”
In closing, Koligian highlighted a few of the upcoming events in the weeks ahead as the school year nears a close. Among those events is the SAB FCUSD International Night on April 26 at Cordova High School, an upcoming school supply drive as well as a Chookasian Aremenia Concert on June 4 and the first day of the 2023-202 school year will be August 8.
*Readers can view Koligian’s entire State of the Schools presentation, which includes more details and information in the Folsom Times produced video above.
Wednesday’s State of Our Schools opened with performances by the Cordova High Music Program.
Photos by Bill Sullivan © Copyright All Town Media LLC, Folsom Times
