Looking toward the future for the Escalon Unified School District, several people turned out for the LCAP, Local Control Accountability Plan, meeting hosted by the district on March 6.

Superintendent Ron Costa said he was pleased with the turnout.

“We had about 30 people, community members, parents, staff members,” he explained. “We reviewed the district’s three goals.”

Those goals are: 1 - Provide the necessary resources and staffing to make all students Career and College Ready; 2 - Provide a rigorous academic program, accessible to all students, so that all students develop the requisite skills to be career and college ready; and 3 - Enlist all stakeholders to create learning environments that are effective and engaging.

“We asked those that showed up, what are the actions we can use toward meeting these three goals,” Costa noted.

He said one theme the district officials have heard frequently is putting an increased focus on the teaching of the state standards, as opposed to working just out of textbooks.

Costa said the district has also put more emphasis on “professional learning communities” that allow for teacher teams by grade level or subject matter. Those teams meet regularly and Costa said that is beneficial for both staff and students as teachers get on the same page in working toward the goals.

“Teams will start looking at the standards, and we’re excited that our teachers are really stepping up,” Costa said.

The session was one that saw district officials take in plenty of suggestions and recommendations, added Costa, and he said there will also be a survey available on line via the district website or Facebook page to get additional input from the community.

It will be available through March 29 for comment.

LCAP is a three-year plan and the district is entering its third year, looking to meet all the goals, Costa said.

A final plan to achieve the three-year goals will be presented to the school board for consideration in June.