Rescue Union reports smooth start to 2024–25; RISE summer program served about 500 students

The Rescue Union Elementary School District reported a largely successful opening to the 2024–25 school year, with staff and administrators highlighting summer preparation, a large summer-school enrichment program and targeted onboarding for new hires.

Assistant Superintendent Dustin Haley told the board the district ran a comprehensive summer program and had a strong first week. "We had approximately 500 students attend summer school, our RISE program," Haley said. He said the program combined academic instruction in language arts and math with enrichment in STEM, visual and performing arts and physical education.

The district also described staffing and readiness metrics the board said were important measures for opening day. According to the presentation, about 3,600 students rode buses successfully on the first day and roughly 400 staff members supported arrivals and classroom starts. Board materials and presenters said every classroom had a teacher assigned when school began.

Haley outlined the district's approach to onboarding and professional development. He said 24 new certificated staff were hired this year and the human-resources team emphasized reference checks and placement so vacancies were filled before the start of instruction. The district held a leadership retreat, a staff-development day at Pleasant Grove Middle School and site-based orientations for families and students.

Principals and site staff used welcoming events to help families with logistics such as drop-off and bus schedules and to introduce routines for the first week. Kindergarten teachers at several elementary sites postponed final class lists until the end of the first full week so teachers could assess students and form classes with knowledge of students' needs, presenters said.

Board members asked about RISE enrollment trends. Haley said the program has grown at the elementary level since the program's first year, when it included middle-school students. "When we dropped down to elementary, it was closer to 400. So we've added incrementally a few more students, you know, each year," he said. He also said the district does not turn away elementary students who want to participate.

The board did not take any policy action on the RISE program during the meeting; the presentation was informational. The superintendent and assistant superintendent said further, more detailed reports on RISE outcomes and connections to attendance data would be provided later in the year.

Looking ahead, district leaders flagged curriculum work (including an anticipated math-adoption process for 2026–27), a state-approved reading screener for grades K–2 and collaboration with the county for science-teacher professional learning tied to the California Science Test (CAST).