001being here for our monthly parent workshop series and this evening we have the future ready learning choices for every family. Again, this is the third workshop in a series for the for the year for our parents here in Capstone Unified. It's a pleasure to be here to provide this information to you this evening. I am joined by some very special guests that I will be introducing as they come up to the uh podium to speak. But to speak here this evening, we have Dr. Renee Johnson, Mr. Chris Carter, Dr. Rowana Mack, Miss Christina Miggy, Mr. Michael Hatcher, Miss Jamie Goodwin. they will all be taking turns and coming up and speaking and sharing with you the great things going on here in Capstone Unified and different um outstanding learning opportunities for our students. So here's
002our agenda this evening. Uh we will start first with a very brief overview of what we provide at all schools here in CUSD. We will then go into the school of choice programs so that families are aware of how that works. And then we move into the different programs that we offer including college and career advantage, language immersion, international balorate, south county virtual, flex academy and then we'll wrap up with what workshops are are coming in the future so that you can continue to uh join us and come to each one and then maybe you'll win a special prize at the end. Now I'm not sure about that but at least uh we hope that you come to each workshop. So I start first with what we offer here in uh CUSD and that is
003a commitment to a worldclass education where we are developing uh five attributes in all of our students. So when they graduate from us they have these different skill sets. innovative problem solver, inspired leader, skilled communicator, engaged citizen, and continuous learner. So, every graduate when they start with us from T preschool and TK all the way through high school, they leave us ready for college and career and military. Every single school uh across the district, our teachers are well-versed and supporting our students in great first instruction. So again that we have a link for families on what that exactly looks like and what you can ask your teachers about to say well what is great first instruction and how does it work in this classroom. So you have that information that is linked to your uh
004to the slide. We also work uh we also make sure across the district that we are promoting connection community and celebration for our students in something called CUSD cares. And so you'll hear more about that and please ask your principal or your teacher what that looks like at your site. So jumping right in, we're going to hand the mic over to uh Dr. Johnson who will be sharing a little bit about how school of choice works in the district. >> Thank you, Dr. Merwin. And it is a pleasure to be with all of you this evening. I'm Dr. Johnson. I work in the safety um and student services department here at the district office. I am here this evening to speak to you all about school of choice. And what is school of choice? It
005is Capistrono Unifi's program that allows families who reside within the CUSD boundaries to apply for enrollment at another CUSD school of their choice. So current CSD students have the opportunity to apply during the school of choice window. And as you see, the school choice window is a little bit earlier this year. So, uh, students that are new to the district have the opportunity to apply for school of choice at the time of enrollment. So, who can apply for school of choice? I think there's a little bit of a misconception because um, you do not it is not first come first serve. So, you do not have to worry about setting an alarm so that you are up at midnight to be the first one to apply during the window. that is it is it is
006based on space available if you live within the CUSD boundaries. Please note that transportation to any school other than the home school is the responsibility of the parent and parents of high school student athletes are urged to learn more about CIF sports eligibility requirements prior to pursuing school of choice so that they are fully aware of sports participation rules and CIF eligibility. and always a good one to speak to. Parents with CIF questions can always contact their school's athletic director for additional clarification. So, how do I apply for school of choice? During the window, so as soon as the window opens, there will be a button on the website. So, you can go to the button and apply for school of choice. And there's additional codes and information that will all be available to you
007on the Kappo website. So, Kappa website, school of choice once the window opens. So, it's very easy to apply. And how will you be notified uh if you've been approved or denied? Notifications will be sent via email to all parents and guardians uh prior to on or before March 9th, 2026. And a lot of this is a common question that comes up. You might be thinking about school of choice, but you're not sure. So, if you are a kindergarten parent or a TK parent, please attend the roundup at your child's school of residence because um they all of the TK kinder roundups are very similar throughout the district and it's important because families need to complete their registration at their school of residence. They'll receive an active seven-digit student ID number which will then enable
008them to pro to navigate through the school of choice program. For secondary students, I know many secondary families are thinking about elective choices. They should um choose their courses and electives for the next school year at their school of residence. And then if approved via the school of choice, those selections will automatically be sent to the approved school and the approved school will do their best to accommodate those choices. All right, common question. What if I change my mind? You can only change your mind during the application school of choice window, which is January 5th through February 1st. If you need to change or cancel, please email school [email protected]. That is also if you have any questions about school of choice, that is who to email. Be sure to include your application number if you
009have one on that email. And other important notes about school of choice after the window has closed. School of choice decisions are final. So unfortunately, if you change your mind after the window, that's it. Those decisions are final. And after the school of choice agreement is in effect, it is in in effect for the duration of the child's school year at the requested school. You do not need to reapply annually. Approved applications are valid until the child metriculates on to the next grade level. There is no rescending of an application once approved for school of choice. And just a reminder, acceptance of a student to the requested school does not guarantee approval for siblings in the future. So lastly, I just want to remind everyone that this is the school of choice window and it
010is once again January 5th through February 1st. Thank you so much. Thank you Dr. Johnson. I should have mentioned and u if if you would please I can already see if you have any questions then please write them down on the index card and then at the end we will answer your questions. So you'll see we want to keep a nice brisk pace through the parent workshop. If you think of something write it down and then we will answer it at the end. Now moving on Mr. Carter is going to come up and speak about college and career advantage. >> Right. Thank you Dr. Merwin. Uh I got this mic right here. That's it. I'm loud enough. Anyways, okay. So, uh, College and Career Advantage is actually a, um, regional occupation program joint powers of
011authority. And what that means is that we exist to support all of the career technical education in both the Capistrana Unified School District and the Laguna Beach School District. So, um, we are largely grant-f funded and we are able to work uh, in both districts, all grade levels. So um what we offer at the elementary level we have career awareness. So we try to get students engaged in ideas about different types of career pathways and uh we have our ICAN labs at all of our elementary schools. Then we have the middle school investigation labs. So um at our middle schools we offer career technical education classes. Uh sometimes it might be a wood shop or it could be culinary, but all of our schools do have a career uh technical investigation lab, which is an
012opportunity for students to kind of get an idea of all of the different types of CTE or career technical education classes that are available at the high school level. And then at the high school level, we have pathways. So what a pathway is is when a student will take two courses in a specific pathway in a specific industry sector and I'll explain that a little bit in a minute. Um and uh what we look at is this is preparation and training. Uh so we have a full work-based continuum which starts with awareness goes into uh exploration and then ends with uh preparation and training at the high school level. So uh types of classes that we offer uh at the high school level. I wanted to elaborate a little bit on this. We have uh
013the inbell during the school day class. So we have career technical education classes at all of our high schools and they vary. They're not the same at every single high school because our high schools have different facilities and different teachers to teach the classes that we offer. Most of our classes are taught by industry professionals or teachers in our district that have industry experience. Um, so the inbell classes are only open to individuals who attend those uh individual schools. We have afterbell classes. Those are regional classes that take place after the school bell day. So they basically run from 4:00 to 6:00, 6:30, 2 days a week. They're regional, so they're open to all students in the Lagouna Beach in the Capistron Unified School District. Many of them take place over at Capitol Valley at
014our learning center and a few of them might take place at our different schools uh throughout our district. Then we also have uh dual enrollment. So our dual enrollment classes are actually college classes that are run on our high school campuses. So uh we have those classes that are college credit and then students can also get high school credit from those classes. We also have an articulated class as well. Articulated classes are classes that are high school classes that can count for college credit. Dual enrollment college classes that can count for high school credit. Articulated classes, uh, high school classes that can be added to a college transcript. So, a little different there, but we offer both of those. And then we have an adult education program that takes place over at our learning center
015at Capo Valley. These are um these are free classes that we offer to any individual within our communities that is 18 years or older and they can take advantage of these classes. They run Monday through Thursday and they're about six hours a day. Um so college and career advantage what we have to offer. So we have 15 of the we have 14 of the 15 different industry sectors that are offered. Industry sectors are ranging from transportation uh health science and medical. Uh it could be engineering, manufacturing, um agriculture, um it could be entertainment, uh arts, media and entertainment. It just runs the gamut. And within those 15 sectors, we have 14 of them. There are 57 different pathways. In the Capistrono Laguna Beach School District, we have 25 distinct pathways. And then we have 179
016different courses throughout our high schools. And uh we have about 463 different sections. So a course is uh like let's say it's sports medicine. We've got sports medicine class, but we've got probably 15 of them offered throughout our district. So those are sections. And then 30% of them are articulated. I just talked about articulation. So they count for uh they can go on a college transcript if you articulate them. 70% are honors, meaning that they are weighted at a five point uh GPA. And then uh 100% of them are uh a uh are UC a throughg. So our classes will count towards entrance to college. And then uh we just uh we have 11 dual enrollment courses. We also offer internships and work-based learning opportunities. Internships for some of our classes. Students are out in
017the field. They might be at the hospital. They may be at a a dentist office, wherever they're [snorts] at, an automotive center, something of that nature. Uh and then uh industry certifications. We have 200 or we had 2,000 over 2,300. This number was from last year. I didn't update it. So, we have plenty of certifications that range from uh uh safe ser or serve safe uh could be CPR. It could be HIPPA could be solid works. The list goes on and on. So, and then I mentioned we have seven adult education classes. So, this is what a pathway looks like. So, this is the indust a pathway. It's called patient care. it falls under the health science um the health science uh industry sector. So if you look at these there's twos and threes. We
018have what are called concentrators and capstone. So you have to take a concentrator before a capstone to be a pathway completer. And so any of these twos will match up with any of the threes on the bottom. So I'll give you an example. Student takes medcore. They are uh they um have got their concentrator down. The next year they go down and they take medical assisting. Now they are a pathway completer but they could take any of the two just as long as they take them in order a two before a three in this distinct pathway. So uh bath uh so we had 721 pathway completers. That's a huge number. We were super proud of that last year. Largest number we've ever had. So why uh what are the benefits of being a pathway completer?
019First of all, it helps us as a district um Kappo and Laguna Beach because it goes on our college and career indicator on the dashboard. Pathway distinction on the transcript for the student. Um also they take a lot of UC and CSU transferable courses and college credit. Um also uh graduation regalia. Everybody wants to wear an orange cord. So um that's what we offer as a distinction for our pathway graduates. And we also have site uh specific support. So, you want to find out what's going on at the sites, uh, what your site has to offer, what our after school programs. We have career guidance specialists at every one of our school sites or every one of our high schools. And they're there to help our students and families navigate career technical education, but they're
020also accompanied by our ambassadors. That's our ambassadors from last year. Uh, and so we have over 88 ambassadors or we have 88 ambassadors this year. They're students that go out and really share what career technical education is all about. Um, and you can find them at summer registration, back to school night, they're at eighth grade orientation. They're at our middle school advisements. Uh, they're all over the place taking advantage and being part of what we have to offer and making sure that we have a conduit to our families about our offerings. And if you want to know more about our offerings, uh, you can head to our website uh or our, uh, you can look over at this QR code. The QR code will take you to each individual high school's pathway offerings. And that
021is it. Thank you. >> Thank you very much, Mr. Carter. And why don't we give our presenters a big round of applause. Thank you so much. [applause] Appreciate Dr. Johnson and and Mr. Carter. And remember to be taking uh any questions you have. Write them down on the index cards that are on the tables and we'll answer your questions at the end. So now it is my distinct pleasure to bring up Dr. Rowena Mack who will be speaking about our language immersion programs. >> Good evening everyone and thank you for joining us tonight. I have the privilege to talk about our language immersion program. So what is language immersion? It's that the students are immersed in a different language. In this particular case, it's going to be either Spanish or Mandarin Chinese. But how this
022is different than the second language that you may have learned in high school is that the students learn the language in all of their academic content areas as well. So the language of instruction happens when they are learning math, when they are learning science, social studies, and it's a program that begins in TKK and is articulated until they graduate from us as 12th graders. And Capistrano is really unique in that program because we are one of very few districts um that offer that articulated program not just in one language Spanish but also in Mandarin Chinese. So we offer two models an 8020 model and a 50/50 model. Now those numbers represent the percentage of language spoken in the target language. And as you can see in the 8020 model, there's greater use of the target
023language exposure in the earlier years. And then we reduce that percentage as the students then travel into the upper grade levels. Um, and we have that in Spanish and our 50/50 model in Spanish and Mandarin. That is a more balanced exposure across all the different grade levels. Since we started our language immersion program here at Capistrani Unified in 1992, we have done a tremendous job in really expanding it to provide equitable access to all of our students and our families across district boundaries. So what we have here are the different district boundaries and areas within the district and how the students can access our program in those different elementary sites. And once they are admitted into the program either as a TK or a K that school that pathway then becomes their school of residence.
024So they travel through those different schools into those metriculation pathway. The numbers you see represented on the right is the current number of students that we have enrolled in that program and it really is a testament to the commitment of our families that are enrolled in our program. There are many benefits to being a multilingual learner. And so I'm just going to highlight a few of what some of those some may be more obvious than others of what are the benefits of being um multilingual. So why might you choose language immersion for your child? Well, it has academic benefits. Uh we have from our data, not just here in the district, but research shows that students have equal or higher academic achievement compared to students that are only Englishonly peers uh across different assessments. Um
025and so that you have your cultural and social benefits as well as your long-term advantages also. And I just want to highlight of course getting the state seal of biiteracy which is something that our students really want to emphasize as they graduate. Um and we are not just about the students being bilingual but being biliterate. That means really be able to read, write, listen and speak in that target language as well. And something that I just wish our parents would know just some of the things uh just as parting things. It's a long-term participation and it's a commitment. So be patient with your child. Be patient with yourself because it's not immediate that after their first year as tekkayers that they're going to be able to take you on a vacation and speak in that
026target language. You're going to need to give them a little bit more time. You don't need to speak the language that your child is learning. For your child to participate and I actually think it's very fun for them to be enrolled in a program in a language that you don't know because they just love knowing something that you don't know, right? um and then expect it to be a journey. It takes over time and we're just always really appreciative of the family partnership and that's something that we are very fortunate to have. And if you just go into our district website, we have all sorts of information about our language immersion program, including the TKNK application window that's going to coincide with our school of choice. So, thanks for being here tonight and please reach
027out if you have any questions. >> Thank you. Let's hear for Dr. Mack. Thank you so much. And now on to international balorate and Miss Christina Migi will share more information. >> Thank you. All right. Good evening. My name is Christina Megie, principal at Carl Hanky TK8 World Academy. At Carl Hanky, we are proud to be an international balorate school offering both the primary years program and the middle years program. two important steps that prepare students for the diploma program which they would receive and go to in high school. The IB program is a global framework for education that helps students develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes they need to make a positive difference in the world. IB emphasizes inquiry based learning where students ask meaningful questions and seek understanding rather than memorizing just answers.
028IB connects students learning across subjects and encourage encourages students to see the world as an interconnected system through action and service. IB allows students to learn how to lead meaningful student initiated contributions to the community and world. One thing that we just finished yesterday was our hawk trot or jogathon where um different classes represented different countries and we ended the night with our cultural night where we celebrated the cultures of those countries. From TK through 8th grade, IB also prepares students to thrive in the diploma program in high school and beyond. At the core of IB, helping students to recognize their their role in the larger world. Students explore global themes and learn to value diverse perspectives. They connect classroom learning to real world issues, asking how does this matter local and globally. This fosters
029curiosity, empathy, and a strong sense of community responsibility. IB learning is guided by the learner profile which describes the 10 traits we nurture in every student. At Hanky, we focus these traits with each month including our recognition ceremonies where we invite our community to celebrate our students in the morning. Our goal is for each student to grow as inquirers for uh who love to learn. Thinkers who solve problems creativ creativity and knowledgeable about the world around them. Communicators who express ideas clearly. caring and principled individuals who act with integrity and risktakers who stand up for what is right. Open-minded, balanced, and reflective learners who continually grow. These these traits help shape the culture of our classrooms and support the inquiry by encouraging curiosity, courage, and reflection. IB teachers use evidence-based approaches to learning to teaching
030and learning. They build these key skills through research and critical thinking, collaboration and communication, self-management and reflection. These approaches give students the tools to inquire deeply, make connections across disciplines, and become confident lifelong learners. Language learning is an essential part of an international education. Every TK8 student at Hanki studies Spanish throughout their IB journey. Learning a second language builds perspective, empathy, and cultural understanding. It connects our students to a wider world and supports the their readiness for advanced Spanish and IB studies in the diploma program in high school. In the IB framework, learning is connected across subjects and centered on big ideas. In the PYP primary years program, students explore transdisciplinary themes like how the world works and who we are. In the middle years program, they examine interdis disciplinary concepts and link science, history,
031math, and the arts. Every unit begins with questions and invites students to explore and discover meaning for themselves, including alternatives for assessments. This connected approach helps students understand not just what they are learning, but why it matters. Student agency allows students to have voice, choice, and ownership of their learning. They learn to set goals, lead inquiries, and reflect on their learning progress, which makes them motivated and prepared for lifelong learning. At Carl Hanky, the IB program isn't just about what students learn. It's about how they learn and who they become. Through inquiry, students will come up with responsible, thoughtful, and meaningful actions and will make an impact. The action will connect with their learning, giving a sense of purpose to their learning through experience and enabling their voice to shine through. Together, we are shaping
032thinkers, communicators, and change makers for the future. Thank you. Thank you so much, Miss Miggy. And now on to Mr. Michael Hatcher, who will be sharing more about South County Virtual Academy. >> All righty. Thank you. It's very nice to be here tonight. Very excited to share this. Um, well, first off, if you're looking at this and you're saying, "Michael, what is the South County Virtual Academy? I've never heard of that before." That's right, because it does not exist. Um, I'm currently the principal of Cal Prep Academy and Kappo Virtual Middle School. Both of those schools are our current online independent study schools. So, we offer alternative education. So students that may necess may not necessarily can or want go to school all day long from 8:00 to 3:30 and maybe need a little more
033time throughout the day. This is a different way for a student to access their education. And so at Cal Prep Academy, we've been um in business for a number of years, very established school, and our students are students from all six of the high schools that um that we serve. students can take uh courses with us and also be a flex student. So they also enrolled in classes at their home high school. Um and for Kappa virtual, our middle school, the same pattern is that students take classes with us independent study where the learning focus is on the students. So, as opposed to a student sitting in a regular classroom and receiving instruction from the teacher, the students on their own go through our online um curriculum and they are ones initiating and engaging in
034the in the education. And so, we have teachers that are available to help support and answer questions, but they do not instruct the students with with the education. It's it's the um independent study model. So students attend school by turning in work as opposed to their physical presence in class. So those are the two current schools that we have. And so what does that have to do with the South County Virtual Academy is that in looking at alternative programs and trying to expand what we offer for all of our students in our district, we we're going to restructure what we currently have. So, Cal Prep Academy and Cappo Virtual will be no longer starting fall of 2026, this coming school year. And we will create a brand new school called the South County Virtual Academy,
035and that'll be grades 6 to 12. And so, in that school, we will have three distincties. The first academy is going to be the Cal Prep Online Academy. So, that is basically what we currently do, our standard operating procedure, grades 6 to 12. So students will still have the opportunity to learn through independent study. Students have to take at least four classes with us for us to get full ADA for them to be considered one of our students. So students can take a full load with us or only take four classes. And they're still be and they were um also still be able to take one two courses at their home middle school or high school. So the majority of our students, I would say about 90% of our students at Cal Prep are considered
036flex students. So they're with us and also at their home school. Now this year at um Cal Prep and also at Capital Virtual, we've implemented um some changes to our school. So we offer now a 100% virtual option. So when students check in with us, they have to check in once a week through a home room session with the teacher. And that's by state law for independent study. We have to connect with our students at least once once a week at the high school. At the middle school, it's at least three times a week. And so students can ver can uh check in virtually. All of their homework and classwork is done online through our through um Canvas and the online curriculum that we purchase. And now at Cal Prep, we also use the use
037of a program called Honorlock, which is an online virtual test proctoring program. So students can test at home but still keep the validity of of high academic rigor using that program. So our students could 100% have a virtual experience both in middle school and high school. So this academy is going to stay as is as we serve students currently. So now the exciting part, the twomies that we're going to be adding under the umbrella of the South County Virtual Academy. So, first is for our for our high school is that we're going to be adding our middle college academy. And in our middle college academy, the idea is that we're going to start with a cohort of 30 students starting in the fall. So, the only students that would be able to to be in
038this program are current eighth graders. And so, those students would apply and they would they'd be selected for this program and they would start with us as freshmen. And so they would still be considered independent studies students as students at Cal Prep Academy. But what the added advantage to this academy is that again uh based upon board approval. So it's still it's still pending board approval is that these students would be able to take college courses and have them count for high school graduation requirements. And the reason why that's such a big deal is because currently we have hundreds and hundreds and thousands of students taking classes at Saddleback College currently, but they can only add it to their transcript for elective credits. So they can't add it to their to their transcript for their
039English class or their history class or their math class or science class. They can only take it for elective credits. And so the difference with thisa with this academy is that students throughout their four years would be able to take the Saddleback English 1A that's transferable to any university in the country and we would count that as their senior English course. So think about it as a students can do a two for one deal, right? And so again, this is all pending board approval. So ideally with with a middle college program over the course of four years a student could realistically by the time they graduate from high school they could earn possibly an AA degree. They can complete what's called the Calgetti which is which is a student's general education. And those of us
040that went went to college remember that the gened now it's called the Calgetti. Um so they're able to complete that and also earn possible certificates based upon a particular career field. And so the key part of what's what's makes us so special is that we got to support the students. So every single student will be enrolled in AVID. So every single student in this academy will be getting AVID strategies to help them be successful in these college courses and their high school courses. And with this academy also similar setup. They can take classes with us. they can take classes at Saddleback and also be still be still connected a little bit with their home school with one or two courses and Saddleback has been an amazing partner through us with this throughout the way. So
041we're we're in talks right now of having a Saddleback counselor on campus and really ensuring that all these students have support so they can be successful in this in this academy. And next is with our middle school academy that we're going to be adding. Uh we're again this is we are exploring a pending B board approval is that we're going to have an elite performance academy where again students will be considered independent study students where they learn they learn on their own but also creating more of a hybrid structure at at the site. So students would take four classes with us still be connected to their home middle school. We'll have CUSD credential teachers at CUSD level curriculum and rigor and for the performance academy and we're thinking athletic performance. And so we're going to
042be offering day training throughout the day. So it'll be students can come for generic athletic training. So speed and agility, strength and exercise throughout the day. Um also our teachers will be there to help support them academically. And the number one thing that we're looking for, again, we're exploring with with our board, is that we're going to be offering a 4-year middle school pathway. So, a current eighth grader could apply for our school and basically go into grade 8.5 or A+. We haven't really come up with a name yet because uh we know that a lot of families for a variety of reasons would like their students to maybe delay when they start high school. um because currently because of CIF athletic rules and also for a variety of reasons, once a student starts high
043school, they have a four-year clock to graduate from high school and uh move on to whatever their goals are afterwards. And so we do know that that is a want for a lot of our families in our district. And so um if this does get approved next week, then we would be able to offer an additional eighth grade year. And the difference that we could offer here in Capana Unified, one is that it's free and two is that we would have academics to support and um advance our students academically. So their academics does not drop off even though they are focusing on their athletic abilities and um goals. And so it would be an academically driven uh performance academy offering to our students. And so we will have a lot more information to come if
044all these if both of those twomies gets board approved and uh looking forward to seeing you all um at those information nights later on. Thank you so much. [applause] >> Thank you so much Mr. Hatcher. And our final program that we'll be sharing with you with you this evening, Miss Goodwin is here to speak about Marblehead Elementary's Flex Academy. Hello and good evening. I am Jamie Goodwin and I'm the principal of the Marblehead Flex Academy. And during this past year, we opened up the Flex Academy option at Marblehead Elementary. I have had the pleasure of getting to know our Flex Academy parents and one of the benefits has been hearing the feedback from our families. I wanted to share this first quote with you because it truly warmed my heart. It says, "I love being
045able to spend more time with my children." And through this quote, I wanted to share with you because this is what our community needs. Our community needs flexibility and time with their children and options for their children. So what I've learned is that every child learns differently and we have created a program for them. So what we created at Marblehead is a three different pathways stealing from Michael. Three different types of programs at Marblehead. We still have the traditional 100% inprogram learning model just like the traditional school. But then under the independent study umbrella, we have the 100% virtual learning model. And then the third model is a unique hybrid version where students can learn online. Their learning platform is 100% online, but then they can come to Marblehead three days a week on Tuesday,
046Wednesday, and Thursday for their socialization and learning model inperson. And I'll dive into that in the next slides. So, just to go over it a little bit more, Michael or Mr. Hatcher talked about a little bit, but on the 100% virtual learning, the students complete their work independently and currently our flex point curriculum is 100% online and it guides the students through the learning. The parents for kindergarten through fifth grade help the students a lot learn the curriculum at home. The next year we are going to offer transitional kindergarten through fifth grade and it's a virtual instruction daily. They have access to instructors daily. They're CUSD credentialed teachers and the district uh adopted virtual learning platform is called Flex Point and the the Capo Virtual has been using this program for many years and attendance
047is based on work completion. So it's not based on if the child is present on a Zoom meeting. It's not based on if the child um is awake. If it like how do you take attendance [clears throat] on a virtual classroom, right? It is based on if they turn in the work that the teacher assigns and essentially it is a 4hour work day of work completion. [snorts] So for our flex program it's an independent study format with the inperson flexibility. So when we say that they have the option of coming to school up to three days and I said before Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday the students attend in-person class and they come um on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and then on Monday and Friday it's a virtual check-in. So we have to show that they
048are checking in five days a week. So on Monday and Friday they hop on a Zoom or a meet and they work with their teacher. They check in, they ask questions. A lot of the teachers do fun little activities. I've seen presentations. They do a lot of Google Slide presentations. They might read their essays, go through their their work that they've been working on during the week. It is a fun me uh session that they go through. [snorts] All grades when they're on campus, they attend the CUSD music classes. So, the primary grades have 35 minutes a week for primary music. PE uh once a week for CUSD PE, it's 50 minutes a week. And then you we also have CUSD art classes that the kids get to participate in. We also have multiple socialization
049and hands-on learning opportunities. So, the students participate in our clubs. They participate in different uh they go to our garden. They participate in our clubs. I already said that. [laughter] And they just work together and socialize in the typical learning environment. Also, we have made sure that our flex program participates in all of the field trips that our students go on. So, the 100% in-person students and our flex students and our 100% virtual students, any field trips, any opportunities for activities, everyone is invited to go and attend. [snorts] Assemblies and family events, same thing. Everyone is invited to attend if they want to go. So the benefits of the flex program. So it's a f flexible schedule for travel, family time and activities. So as I said before, parents want to spend more time with
050their kids. We have many families who let's say the dad we have a family whose uh father is in to his job is racing. So every Thursday through Monday they're out traveling and he's racing his cars. and so they want to travel as a family. But in the typical 100% in-person schooling, being absent Thursday, Friday, and Monday goes against your attendance. So this program allows them that flexibility to be absent but still complete their work. The family time is very important for a lot of our families because the parents are able to essentially homeschool their students while they're at home. But then with the traditional homeschool model, that socialization piece isn't automatically offered. A lot of the homeschool parents are having to find their own socialization. So they are we are offering that for them.
051and there's a supportive option for students with social emotional needs. That is the other side of what I've truly found with this program that a lot of our students struggle with the five day a week full day learning model. We have students who have thrived in our flex model coming three days a week for a shorter day. They might only come for the music or PE or library time because that's what they need, but they're getting their work done and they're thriving at home. And slowly but surely, we're building their stamina and acclimating them to the the learning environment and getting them used to attending school again. through that they're working with their school counselor and we're building a plan in in building their social emotional ac uh skills. Thank you. [snorts] Parent guided learning
052and personalized routines. A lot of our parents want to be heavily involved in their child's learning environment and want to know what their child is learning every day. And so this really allows their them to be in the know and be aware of what their child is learning. They build the routines in their house. We have parents who work all night. That was a unique situation that I learned about recently. Dad works all night. So, they hang out all morning while he's asleep, then dad wakes up and they kind of work with the routine and do homework when dad is at work at night. Does that make sense? So, that is um real important for them. So strong social connections and a small school community. We have a very strong PTA. We have a very
053strong community. We call ourselves an ohana. And if you know with an ohana, no one is left behind. We celebrate everyone's unique needs. We celebrate everyone and bring each other in and lift each other up. So uh our community is um very very special and very very small. We have our hands-on learning and our garden and our clubs and we have an innovative and engaging fast-paced academic environment. So, if you're looking for enrichment and you're looking for a unique uh place for your child, the Marblehead Flex program is definitely for you. So, if you would like to know more, I am going to host some flex program information tours and here are the dates. If you're specifically looking for TK, so transitional kindergarten or kindergarten specific in information, there will be a meeting on Thursday,
054January 8th. And then there will be an information after a session after that and enrollment for our program will begin in that school of choice window January 5th. And lastly, this is a beautiful view of our wonderful school in San Clellini and our garden and our beautiful I call it our backyard. We have a wonderful playground and backyard. So, if you're ever nearby, stop on by. Thank you. [applause] >> Thank you so much. Let me grab that back from you. Okay, so that is the that concludes the different programs for this evening that we're sharing with you. We do want to remind you about some exciting parent workshops that are coming up and then we will be setting aside time to answer some questions here before you leave. But looking ahead, we would love to
055see you continue to attend either here in person or online. And you can see our next parent workshop will be January the 15th where we'll be providing families with support on academic planning preparing for transitioning from grade level uh span to span. So for example if you are preschool to TK to kindergarten that would be one of those uh jumps in one of those uh academic planning periods 5th to 6th 8th to 9th. Uh we will be providing you with support at that workshop on February 26th. everything you wanted to know about school funding. Maybe you don't want to know about it, but it's important to know. Uh, school funding for all of you so you can be more versed in how that works. March 25th, artificial intelligence, and we will be providing some support
056for families, not only explaining what we're doing here in CAPS Toronto, but also what you can do uh with AI to support your child. April 30th, student assessments, kind of explaining uh how all of that works and providing you with support. And then finally, it's weird to think about it now as we're in November, but summer will be here eventually. And so we'll support you with summer programs and give you some ideas on what you can do to support your child as we head into the summer. And that'll be our last workshop for this year. So again, the next workshop is January the 15th. We hope that you are here with us again, either here in person or on YouTube or watching the recording later. Please, please make sure you join us. And that is
057the January workshop for you. So that you have up here right now a QR code. We would like as we answer questions from this evening, we would like for you to uh use the QR code and give us feedback about the workshop tonight. What did you like? Uh what was helpful? Uh what would you like to see for future workshops, etc. So, please, if you would, as we're answering questions, take a couple minutes to um use that QR code and give us feedback so we can continue to uh improve and enhance our workshops. And let me just see a show of hands before we come around and pick up the index cards. If you have a question, remember to write it down on the index card on the table. So, if you have a question,
058write it down. We will answer several of them tonight and then we'll answer the others um later. So, please write your questions down right now. But let me just see a show of hands. If you learn something new about a program here in Capstone Unified, raise your hand if you learn anything that was new that you didn't know walking in. Look at that. That's 100% for the people that are online. We have 100% of success rate here as far as at least we shared with all of you something that was new and unique to support you. So, we'll take a minute to come by and collect your cards. And if you are online, you can email us your questions. You can either email it to me at [email protected] or to Ryan Burus at [email protected]. Also,
059we will be sending this recording out to all families and with that recording will be the contact information from our esteemed presenters this evening so that if you have more information and we don't get your questions answered tonight, you can reach out directly to the experts and they will help you. All right. So, we're going to start off first and uh and I'm going to ask our experts to assist with the questions. So, the first one uh for Mr. Hatcher, how do you avoid the 19 to 20 yearear-old senior? Will there be an age cut off like TK and what will the curriculum look like for 8.5? Yes, part of the board policy is that there will be a cutoff for CIF rules. Student cannot be 19 years old on June 13th. Um they can
060be 19 years old on June 15th. And so we took that back to um their age after their eighth grade year. So we incorporated that as as the age cutoff and what the curriculum is going to look like for that 8.5 year is that I'm talking talking with the teachers. We're actually looking at um evaluating the students based upon their their CASP scores, their eighth grade year. And if students are at grade level, then we were looking at having um still enrolling the students in four of the core course courses but not repeating the same the same course. So for English, we're going to be having a um a basically a almost a high school level reading course to help students to get up to grade level and also annotate annotating and identifying core concepts
061for mathematics. Because we're all one big school, we're going to allow students to take the next math course. So, if they're in acceler accelerated algebra, we can offer them geometry. If students are in math 8, we can offer them accelerated algebra so they can advance um in the mathematics. We're also looking at doing a uh comprehensive science course for the students and also a comprehensive history course. And so, we also use Flex Point online curriculum and they have a number of electives that we can offer. And we're also looking at adding um athletic based um electives. So there's fitness, there's nutrition, there's just general, there's um leadership. So we're looking at um those those those particular classes. And so if students score maybe below grade level um on their Sback, their eighth grade year, then
062we can remediate those courses and have them take those courses again to sh up those skills before before they start high school. And also we also have opportunities for uh we also have a Spanish teacher at the high school and so students can maybe start taking Spanish one so then they can start high school at the Spanish 2 level if they couldn't fit that elective in their schedule. So we're looking at supporting them in the in the four core academics and not just repeating the same courses that they took in eighth grade. >> Mr. Hatcher, where are you going? Can I >> can nonathletes >> can non-athletes who want to uh be part of Elite Performance Academy? Are non-athletes invited? >> 100%. These students are any student that wants to apply? We're looking at that.
063We're just going to be offering the the in-person um athletic training, but similar to the the Marbod Flex Academy, we're going to offer it, but it's not a requirement for students to attend. And so we're also looking at possibly for for this additional eighth grade year. There are some students that maybe started school and they're extremely young compared to their to their um to their colleagues and maybe for a variety of reasons. A family may want a student to have another year before they start high school so they're more on par with their students um age- wise. And so there is no requirement we have to be in a sport um for this for this additional eighth grade year because we we understand that families have a variety of reasons why they would do that.
064>> And hang out we got another one definitely it's you've generated a lot of questions uh again on the elite performance academy are the PE courses sports specific and then do students need to maintain a specific GPA? The answer for that is no. And we're doing that intentionally because if we try to here of having football or baseball or basketball or track, we just don't have the staffing for that. So the idea behind that is having more generic run faster classes, right? So students in any sport, soccer, football, baseball, they can they can benefit from that. You know, maybe this week we're going to learn how to jump higher. There's a lot of a lot of sports to do that. So, we're going to be generic um athletic ability for for all for um for
065all sports. So, that was the idea behind that. And we are going to have a credentialed um CUSD PE teacher. And we're looking for teachers that have experience coaching and training students um as the teacher to lead that aspect of it. And for the maintain a specific GPA um for independent study, students have to maintain adequate academic progress. And so the way we look at that is we we just don't want students to be failing their courses. And so there's not a specific GPA currently right now. A student in academic um that's under academic review are students that are getting below a 65% in two or more classes. And so that is what we would consider under academic review. But we have a full um intervention pyramid where students if they show that independent study
066is not working for them, we have a a full inter um intervention period where we have an SST meeting. We have um we ask students to come in person and we have a lot of resources to to support our students. So the the one there's a lot of great things about independent study, but another thing is our teachers because they're not standing in front of a classroom giving lectures all day long, they have a lot more free time for one-on-one meetings with the students and families. And so we have a lot more support and ability for our teachers to help support students that that need it. >> I have another one for you, Mr. Hatcher. Middle college this time. >> Uh high school students who receive the the AA at the time of graduation, are
067they transfer students, are they able to transfer to a 4-year university? >> So those students would still be considered first year first year um applicants. And so even though they have a large number of credits, they would still be um applying as a firstear student. And so they would apply to that to to that particular university. And whenever they go then that what would come with them is their is their transcript of all of the credits that they've that they brought. And so the Calgetti um is for CUSD not um CUSD uh Cal State University and UC's. Now, private schools and schools across the country, they have a variety of um application uh requirements and and classes that they would take, but because of the California system, uh all UC's and Cal States would take
068those courses. And so, we would only make sure our students take classes that that are transferable um and that that they can take anywhere, but they would still be considered a first year freshman. >> Okay, last question for Mr. Hatcher here, then we're going to switch over to Miss Goodwin. So, be ready. So last question is the the middle school flexible option through the um uh through uh Cal Prep the Cal Prep Virtual Academy for middle school. Is that also work with immersion? Unfortunately, no. And that is because um we have a limited um staffing. And so right now the students that we would that we would have would be with um the general the the general courses um for for those students. So with immersion programs those are specialized teachers for that particular program
069and we just don't have that added to with to our school. Now students with 504s and IEPs are definitely also welcome to enroll in independent study. Just anybody with an IEP needs to make sure that they hold an IEP meeting and that the team agrees that the student can learn in independent study setting. I know that wasn't the question, but I just want to throw that out there. Um, so unfortunately, no. >> All right. Thank you, Mr. Hatcher. On to Miss Goodwin. Uh, so Miss Goodwin, we have a question for the for the 100% virtual. Is there any instructional time? And then for the flex students, must students go all three days, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, full days or are they optional? >> Okay, so the virtual students check in every single day. Just like the
070virtual on Mondays and Fridays, the 100% virtual students check in Monday through Friday, every single morning for 30 minutes. So they meet with their teacher for 30 minutes every single day. And during that time they usually do like a a mini lesson of what they're learning a concept that they're learning during that time. And then sorry um Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday full days. No, we are the program is very flexible with the time that the child is on campus because remember that the attendance is based on the work completion. So the time that they come on campus on those flex days can be very flexible. So it can be come at 10:00 for their band class and library if they want or come for the instruction in reading and math but if they don't like
071band and they don't want to do PE they don't need to do those classes and they can go home. >> Thank you very much. And then Mr. Carter. Mr. Ricardo, you're on the hot seat. For elementary I can the I can labs during the day or after school and then does it cost money for families? >> Uh no. Our IAN labs are during the school day and it depends on the specific site. So we have ICAN labs at every site. Some of them are using them uh on a regular basis. Uh some are not using them as much. So um and it's up to the teacher. So the labs are there and their regular teacher would take them to the ICAN lab and take them through the process. So, um, again, no charge. None of
072our stuff costs. So, all of our CTE classes, including our adult classes, are free of charge because of the grants rewrite. >> And another one for you, Mr. Carter. We have, what type of students enroll in CTE? >> That's a good question. All types of students. We have every type of student in uh our districts that take advantage of our courses. So remember, our courses range from anything from biotech to architecture to engineering to foods, auto, you name it. So there's something for every student out there that's interested in in pursuing career. Um I was just looking at our numbers the other day. We have about 15% of our students are in uh that are identified as special ed and we have about 15.5% of our students in Capistrono who are identified as special ed.
073So we replicate the exactly what we have in our school systems and we have students and remember a lot of our classes are weighted. So we have students who are going off to four-year colleges and want to be engineers and stuff like that. Our engineering class is not going to count for engineering for them. It's more of an introductory course but um again every student in our our um district has a place in CTE and we're able to accommodate them at many different levels. >> Thank you sir. All right Dr. Johnson question on school choice. Is uh school cho does school choice have to be done every year or just once while they're at elementary, middle school or high school? That's a great question. So no, once you are have been accepted through school of
074choice, you do not have to apply again until one of those metriculation periods. So once in elementary and then again in middle school and then again in high school. So after you've applied that one time, great question. Until the metriculation period. >> Thank you so much. And Miss Miggy, come on up here. Okay. So then >> first question, how does the IB program work at the high school level? Well, the high school level students are able to get into the IB program their junior year. And so their freshman sophomore year, they need to at least take a language to be able to um get into that program. And that program during their high school year, they will be in set IB courses. And some of those courses also couple with AP courses. So they have
075a set grouping of classes and then they would be able to graduate with their IB diploma. And one more for you. Can you start IB after TKK? >> Great question. Yes, any student can come in to our program at Hanky and we would just incorporate the education into IB. It is not something that um students choice into. And it's something that even if you came in in sixth grade, you would still be part of our IB program and picking up where you left off. Again, everything that we do at Hanky revolves around the IB learner profile traits in um the curriculum. >> Okay. Thank you, Miss Miggy. And that will we are 5 minutes over. We're going to conclude with those questions. Thank you so much for being here this evening. You are a wonderful
076audience and also online. Thank you so much. And if you're watching this recording later, please do take the time to give us feedback on how tonight was and if you walked away with more information and any ideas you have for the future. Thanks so much everyone. Have a good evening. Bye-bye.