Board Tackles Achievement Gaps, Phone Rules and Safety Deadlines

The Jefferson Union High School District's Governing Board covered serious ground on Feb. 10, diving into a mid-year accountability report that surfaced persistent achievement gaps for Hispanic and Latino students, approving a new cell phone policy giving schools flexibility to go further than the district baseline, and racing to approve safety plans before a state deadline — after catching a procedural error in real time. Mixed in: two championship football teams, a student whose story embodied the power of small schools, and a community push to honor a Pacifica sports legend.

• $3.4M in supplemental funds under review as mid-year LCAP update reveals persistent achievement gaps for Hispanic/Latino students across nearly all metrics

• Bridge program for newcomer students closing next year as immigration patterns shift enrollment downward

• Cell phone policy approved, setting a district-wide floor while letting schools adopt stricter measures like phone pouches or bell-to-bell bans

• School safety plans for all five campuses approved after a last-minute procedural fix to meet the March 1 state deadline

• Staff housing building 100% occupied with a waitlist of 54, underscoring workforce housing demand

• Community members rally to name Terra Nova sports facility after longtime Pacifica sports figure Horace Hinshaw

• Two football championships celebrated — Terra Nova and Jefferson both win PAL division titles in the same season