Holly Glen teacher urges preserving parent volunteers as site shows gains in reading

A Holly Glen kindergarten teacher asked the Wiseburn Unified board on March 26 to ensure the district’s volunteer vetting review preserves opportunities for parents to assist in one-time classroom activities, saying volunteers are essential to student engagement.

Maria Rodriguez told the board she appreciated the focus on safety but warned that changing language in volunteer policies could remove parent access and force cuts to special classroom events that motivate students. "Having special days in my classroom is what brings my students back to school day in and day out with enthusiasm," Rodriguez said during public comment, and she asked that policy language continue to allow parents to accompany students for one-time special occasions.

In the school site update that followed, Kiana (presenting for Holly Glen) described the school’s four priorities—reading, math, science, and student wellness and safety—and highlighted midyear i-Ready diagnostic results. She said the school is aiming for an 80% mastery target for first-grade phonics and second-grade comprehension and reported reductions in the number of students in tiered intervention levels (for example, first-grade Tier 2 decreased from 64% to 36%; second-grade Tier 3 fell from about 20% to 6% in midyear data).

Kiana said kindergarten diagnostic data are incomplete and will be supplemented with other common assessments (ESGI) and that staff plan to share additional kindergarten-level information with the board. She described use of MyPath and targeted coaching time to personalize instruction.

What happens next: The board noted the upcoming policy review of volunteer vetting and offered support to site staff; district staff indicated they would bring additional assessment data and clarifications for kindergarten at a future meeting.