2024-2027 LCAP PLAN SUMMARY 

Nestled at the southern base of the Santa Cruz Mountains along Highway 17, the Scotts Valley Unified School District (SVUSD) proudly serves its community. The district is comprised of four award-winning schools: Brook Knoll Elementary, Vine Hill Elementary, Scotts Valley Middle School (SVMS), and Scotts Valley High School (SVHS), with a high percentage of students matriculating to colleges following graduation from Scotts Valley High School. The district also supports an independent Charter School - California Online Public Schools. Although the .02% Foster Youth, 4.2% English Learners, and 10% Socially Economically Disadvantaged counts seem like relatively small numbers of students, there are various languages and situations that contribute to the diversity and a need for support from this highly acclaimed district. The Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) includes supplemental dollars, LCFF (Local Control Funding Formula) base, categorical, grants, and other general fund dollars. Scotts Valley Unified School District remains one of the lowest funded unified school districts in the state of California. The low funding creates unique challenges in meeting the needs of all learners. This Local Control Accountability Plan tells the story of Scotts Valley Unified School District, the goals, actions, services, and means of measuring progress over three years.

Our Mission: Scotts Valley Unified School District provides every student with educational and social learning opportunities so they can develop their skills and thrive in a modern world.

Our Vision: Empowering students to be socially responsible, engaged, ethical, and effective citizens in a global society. 

Our Commitment to Equity and Inclusion:

"Diversity is a fact.
Equity is a choice.
Inclusion is an action.
Belonging is an outcome.

~ Arthur Chan

SVUSD chooses to bring equity and inclusion into its decisions and practices. We welcome and celebrate the diversity of our community and strive for an inclusive district where everyone has a sense of belonging and feels valued.

Core Values & Guiding Principles:

• Our role is to develop academically capable, culturally attuned, socially responsible, and proactive students.

• We value trust, respect, and teamwork from our highly skilled and dedicated team.

• District decisions, at all levels, should be thoughtful, equitable, and transparent.

• We value commitment and collaboration from our engaged students, families, and the community.

• We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all.

• Student body and school staff diversity enriches the learning experience, promotes cultural awareness and acceptance, and serves as a model for citizenship in a global society.

• We are accountable to our community for setting clear expectations and optimizing resources to meet our goals.

• Continuous school improvement is necessary to meet the needs of students in a changing economy and society.

• Quality educational opportunities must be differentiated to meet the needs of individual students.

• Our respect for the unique characteristics of each employee and student is demonstrated through our relationships with them.

Our process has established district priorities, actions, and allocations of resources. It is important to all the stakeholders in SVUSD that we support the continuum of abilities and learners, including English Learners, Socio and Economically Disadvantaged Students, Special Education Students, Homeless Students, and Foster Youth, students who are high achieving such as those involved in advanced and International Baccalaureate (IB) classes, and those who are meeting or nearly meeting standards. Communicating the goals and vision of the district to our community is imperative, and families are actively involved in the education process. We are especially proud of the changes we have made and the focus we have given to climate and culture, and have spent a great deal of time focusing on CTE (Career & Technical Education) pathways with a focus on Media Arts and Design. Building local assessments and participating in regular data cycles across the district, as well as communicating our goals, expectations, and resources, have been important focus areas over the past three years. Our district has committed to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging incorporating all stakeholders' voices in the process of ensuring equitable representation of our community and beyond in our classrooms. An Alternative Education academy, K Street, was implemented at the high school to keep students engaged and incorporated at SVHS. SVUSD is fortunate to provide quality professional development to its teachers and staff. The first lens when determining professional development is to analyze the needs of its unduplicated students. (An unduplicated pupil is the count of students who (1) are English learners, (2) meet income or categorical eligibility requirements for free or reduced-price meals under the National School Lunch Program, or (3) are foster youth.)

All four of our schools are Gold Ribbon Schools, three of them receiving Blue Ribbons and SVMS received the California Distinguished School Award for 2023. Our highlights include an International Baccalaureate (IB) program at the high school, electives at the middle school, and strategic implementation of core standards including Reader’s and Writer’s Workshop and math strategies at the elementary schools.

2024-25 LCAP GOALS & SUMMARY

Goal 1: Pupil Achievement

All students are provided a high-quality education with equitable access to standards-aligned instruction, rigorous programs and a multi-tiered system of support to accelerate learning.

English Learners: 

• Homework clubs after school focused specifically on the needs of English Learners

• Dedicated pull out and push in support at every level

Differentiation & Interventions:

• After school Homework clubs 

• Alternative Education program (K Street) at the high school

• Credit recovery at the high school

• Increased aide support in the classrooms

• Quality intervention programs at all sites focused on improved student learning in ELA and math, with an increased focus on specific subgroups and mathematics training for teachers

• Focus on PLC and professional development for teachers to improve students’ overall achievement and implementation of the multi-tiered system of support (MTSS)

Student Achievement: 

• Assessment Implementation Plans / Data Cycles

• Purchase and identification of local standardized assessments

• Professional development to ensure teacher and staff readiness to support all levels of learners, with a focus on unduplicated students, in all subject areas  

Goal 2: School Climate

Ensure school and classroom environments provide Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) + and support for the Whole Child.

Parent Engagement:

• Communication

• Training 

Culture: 

• Social-emotional support through school-wide activities, counseling support, K-12 SEL curriculum and staff trainings 

• PBIS (Positive Behavioral Intervention Systems and Supports) i.e., curriculum mapping, programs, materials, training, website resources

• Full-time social/emotional counselors K-8

• Focus on improving attendance and increasing enrollment 

Goal 3: Course Access

Foster globally-aware and future ready lifelong learners.

College & Career:

• District Arts Task Force

• College visits to school sites and participation in College Week / Month across the District

• Naviance College support and SAT Prep

• CTE (Career Technical Education) pathway in Media Arts

• Course articulation with local community colleges at the high school

Goal 4: Facilities & Technology

Provide a safe and modern learning environment to optimize students’ educational experience.

Facilities 

• Maintain clean and safe school facilities 

Technology 

• Ensure students have access to technology to support positive curriculum engagement

Stakeholder Engagement

 SVUSD is proud to collect feedback and input from a variety of stakeholders:

• Parent LCAP Survey

• Parent School Site Council Surveys

• LCAP Parent Advisory Committee

• District English Learner Advisory Committee (DELAC)

• Community Advisory Committee for Special Education Families (CAC)

• Scotts Valley Educational Foundation (SVEF)

• SVUSD Board of Trustees Strategic Plan Community Advisory

• Health and Wellness Committee

• District Arts Task Force