Salinas Union High School District is the largest high school district in Monterey County. And how well is it going educating its 15,871 students? Very well, according to the numbers and a progress report presented on April 10 by SUHSD Superintendent Dan Burns.
Speaking to a crowd of media, elected officials, community faith leaders and other Salinas superintendents, Burns gave a report illustrating where the district was and where the district is now. Appropriately, the summit was inside the long-awaited, brand-new Rancho San Juan High School.
The school is not completely open yet, with an official opening set for July. The auditorium floor still had a protective surface laid on top. But holding the first-ever Superintendent's Summit inside the new high school is a testament to how the district is growing and representative of its goals for the future, Burns said.
Unlike all other school districts in Salinas, SUHSD is increasing in enrollment, particularly at the high school level. "It's says something," Burns said. "Parents are leaving their children here to be educated rather than follow them in the [agricultural] migration."
Increased enrollment means increased challenges for the district to serve a growing student body, and a student body that includes mostly nonnative English speakers. but the district remains resilient.
Eight-eight percent of SUHSD students identify as Hispanic-Latino, and 71 percent are designated as English Language Learners; 45 percent of those students have passed a language test and are now considered fluent in English.
The student body is 87 percent low-income. To help serve those students, the district has engaged in helping out with necessities such as providing free school meals to all students, regardless of income. The district has also expanded its counseling services in recent years, trying to better serve students' mental health needs.
And as far as turning out high school graduates, SUHSD is surpassing the state average in many ways. Ninety-eight percent of students graduated in 2018 with around 80 percent attending college right away, compared to 70 percent nationally. Of that cohort, 70 percent continued onto their second year. (California's high school graduation rate is at 82 percent.)
Speaking of college, Burns sees a part of the district's mission is to make sure graduates who do end up in college stay in college and complete their degrees or certifications."The number-one reason students don't enroll in college after high schools is because of money," Burns said.
To that end, SUHSD has increased free financial aid workshops, and directs many students to Hartnell College so they can take advantage of the Salinas Valley Promise program, which pays for a student's first academic year in Hartnell. "This way, all those students who are working can save their money or put it toward their rent," Burns said.
The push is showing results: SUHSD students earned $32 million worth of scholarships in 2018. Ten years ago, Burns said, students pulled in just $400,000 in scholarship awards. "We are miles from where we were," he said.
The numbers at the Superintendent's Summit spoke volumes, but so did the students. The 2019 valedictorians gave short and enthusiastic speeches on their education, noting helpful teachers and on-campus resources. These valedictorians will go on to their choice of prestigious Ivy League schools like Yale and Columbia, and top UCs like Berkeley and San Diego.
The crowd also heard from non-traditional students like Adolfo Gonzalez, originally from Oaxaca, Mexico. Arriving in Salinas, he came to work in the fields and spoke only his native Zapotec. Gonzalez learned Spanish and then English at SUHSD's Salinas Adult School. He eventually earned his GED and went on to CSU Monterey Bay, where he will graduate with honors with a degree in Spanish.
"Hopefully it will be my last semester," he joked. "I am thankful for the support I received from all of the staff who work for this great institution."