Educating parents has become an integral part of the Manteca Unified goal of providing an education that allows each student to succeed.

As such, it has played a pivotal role in allowing  the 25,500 student district to make progress in re-gaining pre-pandemic achievement levels measured by state testing.

The approach when wedded with the district’s strategy of educating the individual by zeroing in on each students’ deficiencies, needs and circumstances — including things such as access to Internet and even home situations that may make it difficult to learn — has allowed MUSD to make progress recouping academic ground.

And the best example of that progress is the district’s efforts with one of the most challenging categories of students — foster youth.

In the latest California Department of Education dashboard data that gives a snapshot of school performance, foster youth as a group in Manteca Unified since 2023 have seen a:

*26 point increase in the mastering of English language arts.

*5.7 point rise in math articulation.

*7.6 percent in effectively prepping students for colleges and careers based on 11 indicators ranging from advanced placement exams and college credit courses to completing career technical education pathways.

*7.6 percent drop in chronic absenteeism.

*2.1 percent decrease in suspensions.

Manteca Unified has made progress in other dashboard categories but, as Superintendent Clark Burke noted, that is not enough.

“We are making progress but we need to do better,” Burke said.

Part of that effort is the switch this school year to standards based report cards as opposed to the A through F grading system.

For the past three years, teachers have been working to devise and implement a reporting system to parents that accurately measures what a student can do instead of essentially rating how they are doing on a preordained matrix for a subject.

In other words, instead of focusing on percentages or points, standards based report cards zero in on how well a student understands material as opposed to their ability to earn points.

The new system points out specifics of what a student needs to improve in. As such, it communicates that to parents or caretakers.

In doing so, parents are then better positioned to help their student succeed.

Lisa Herrin, who led the crafting of Manteca Unified’s Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP), said the approach allows for continuous improvements in classroom instruction while addressing the fact that the district’s 25,500 students are individuals with diverse needs.

Burke emphasized the process is based on the fact the more the community participates in educating children  — in this case parents being provided a roadmap, if you will, to help their child learn — the more effective education is.

Foster youth were among the lowest performing of all student groups returning to school after the pandemic.

The plan to address the needs of foster youth was developed, implemented and is being monitored by Director of Student Programs Sherrie Jamero.

The dashboard shows Manteca Unified is also performing better for students overall when it comes to college and career preparedness.

Overall, 42.5 percent met or exceeded the state’s goal for college/career preparedness, an increase of 4.5 percent over 2023.

Lodi and Stockton Unified increased as well.

Tracy declined by 2.5 percent.

While Manteca is at 42.5 percent the other districts are at 33.8 percent for Lodi, 22.4 percent for Stockton, and 31.9 percent for Tracy.

The district’s suspension rates are not just better than they were after the pandemic but are better than they were in 2019 before COVID-19 forced school closures.

Manteca Unified continued to improve on the pre-pandemic suspension rate in the initial dashboard after the pandemic.

In the latest dashboard report, the overall suspension rate is 4.9 percent — the same as 2023.

While Manteca maintained it’s suspension rate, the three other districts experienced increases.

Lodi’s rose to 5.5 percent, Stockton to 5.3 percent, and Tracy to 6.2 percent.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com