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Recommendations 10

• R1

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  By December 31, 2024, Napa Valley Unified School District and Napa County Office of Education will implement programs that focus on elementary and middle schools with gang prevention and parental education programs. The School District already offers a wide range of curricular and community resources to students and their families to educate, intervene, and support students so that they make good choices in their lives, resist the allure of gangs, and are able to focus on their future goals, including college and vocational careers. The following summarizes existing programs, partnerships and parental education programs that were offered in 2023-2024 and which will continue in 2024-2025. We are always open to additional opportunities and partnerships with not only the Napa County Office of Education but other community organizations and groups.
• R2

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  By the fall of 2025, Napa Valley Unified School District and Napa County Office of Education restore free high school vocational curriculums (CTE- Career and Technology Education) and partner with local industries to align their course offerings with labor market needs. As mentioned above, vocational curriculum, which has been relabeled Career Technical Education or “CTE,” has not been eliminated within the School District. We support Career Technical Education in all five high schools, and all CTE programs include 131 | P a g e industry-aligned classes and programs. CTE course offerings available at district high schools from the 2023-2024 school year include the following: 1. American Canyon High School Business, Culinary Arts and Hospitality, Education, Sports Medicine, Sustainable Construction 2. Napa High School Engineering and Robotics, Manufacturing and Product Development, Medical Science, Sustainable Construction 3. New Technology High School Digital Design 4. Valley Oak High School Design, Visual and Media Art 5. Vintage High School Agriscience, Animal Science, Business, Culinary Arts and Hospitality, Multimedia Production, Printing and Graphics, Woodworking
• R3

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  By the fall of 2025, Napa Valley Unified School District and Napa County Office of Education, to maximize OTS (out of school time), partner with non-profit stakeholders to provide enriching experiences that provide lasting developmental benefits. Napa Valley Unified School District (NVUSD) Besides the myriad academic, co-curricular, and social-emotional in-school experiences our certificated and classified staff members provide our students every day of the school year, our District provides students with significant OTS activities. These programs provide a safe environment for students to learn and play until 6:00 pm. We have maximized our ELOP funding, particularly with respect to elementary students, to ensure that they have a safe, engaging, and welcoming environment in which they can play and learn after-school and during vacation breaks between school sessions. Moreover, as described above, we have many 134 | P a g e existing partnerships with a variety of nonprofit and community organizations that help support both our students and our families. Among the many skills that are supported in the OTS programs, some of them include: 1. Elementary students learn how to socialize, regulate their emotions, make friends, and engage in healthy physical activity. 2. Middle school students learn about developing positive relationships (e.g., navigating friendships, healthy boundaries), responsible technology use; they also have recreational opportunities and homework tutoring is available. 3. All students have more specialized interventions and OTS programs and supports that can be tailored to them on a case-by-case basis. These programs are outlined in more detail below. Elementary School After-School Programs 1. Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (“ELOP”): The State provides funding for after-school, intersession, and summer enrichment programs for TK-6 graders. In 2023- 2024, the School District was able to utilize ELOP funding to develop: a. Expanded TK to all elementary schools in the district. In 2021, we had only 7 TK classrooms; in the 2024-2025 school year, we will have 19 TK classrooms. b. Expanded childcare, after-school programs, & enrichment opportunities: The District collaborates with numerous community organizations and over 2,500 TK- 6th grade students enroll in these programs. Our families benefit from our partnerships with NVUSD Childcare, Boys and Girls Club, and Cool School. Parents know that their students have a welcoming place where their students can learn, have fun, and be safe when not in school. These programs provide free access for qualifying families in grades TK-6, often serving our most vulnerable populations. Middle School After-School Programs 1. Community Partnerships: All middle school students have access to expanded learning through Boys and Girls Club or ACE Excel (NCOE). Academic intervention and enrichment are embedded in the after-school program at the middle school level. 2. Expanded Athletic Programming: Beginning in 2022-2023, our middle schools offered two competitive 6th grade sports and seven competitive sports for 7th and 8th grades. The district continued to offer a full range of competitive sports at the middle school level. High School Intervention and After-School Programs NVUSD partners with Boys and Girls Club of Napa Valley to provide after-school programming to high school students. The partnership in 2023-2024 increased after-school services to high school students from 69 students to 114 students. During this time, high school students are receiving academic supports and career-aligned learning to help them succeed and thrive so that they can have the full complement of life choices they deserve. Finally, we are always open to additional opportunities and partnerships community organizations, nonprofits, and other individuals and groups that can help our students. 135 | P a g e Napa County Office of Education (NCOE) As mentioned in response to Recommendation 1, the Napa County Office of Education partners with all school districts to provide Out of School time expanded learning programming (before, after; and intersession). NCOE provides programming to TK-8th grade students directly operating the COOL School and ACE programs at 10 school sites in Napa County. We partner with the Boys and Girls Club of Napa to support programming at 5 additional sites in Napa. We also partner with the Boys and Girls Club of Calistoga/ St Helena to provide programming at 5 Up Valley sites. Expanded Learning programs are offered until 6PM each day and are available to all students, regardless of family income level. Additionally, 30 days of intersession programming (during school breaks) are available and open from 8AM-6PM. Our programs offer a balance of academic intervention and enrichment plus physical activities throughout the regular school year and summer. We pride ourselves on delivering engaging programming that supports student growth by following the 12 after school quality standards. There are numerous organized sports programs operated by groups outside the school system that include soccer, baseball, and tennis, among others. An issue with expanding these programs, or even keeping them alive, is the lack of available land for suitable fields. While the school districts may have suitable property, there are issues of safety, liability, school district priority, and supervision that make the districts reluctant to open them to outside groups after school, on weekends and in the summer. Purchasing land in Napa County is prohibitively expensive, and there is often resistance by nearby residents of any identified property to the additional noise, traffic, and litter that turning empty fields into sports arenas for children may bring. We hope that by gathering all relevant parties to a meeting on September 5 we can develop a plan to overcome the resistance. Additional opportunities for engagement in afterschool activities might take place in the public libraries, which may be able to offer programs that will bring more children to organized activities, and businesses may be willing to offer additional internships, job shadows, or employment opportunities in the service of reducing the allure of gangs.
• R4

  Page 142
  By December 31, 2024, Napa Valley Unified School District and Napa County Office of Education establish a bi-annual meeting between the Napa Valley Unified School District, Napa County Office of Education and business community organizations such as Rotary, Elks, Moose, Napa Chamber of Commerce, and the Napa County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce to create job opportunities, internships, and training for credits. Napa Valley Unified School District (NVUSD) The Superintendent, administrative team, and NVUSD Board of Education Trustees leverage various opportunities to engage with the local agencies and organizations when possible and as necessary. For example, and most recently, the district engaged in a yearlong process to produce its 15-year strategic vision (Vision 2040) and 2024-2029 action plan where community members, from a variety of local organizations, were invited to participate and provide feedback on its development. In fact, the district gathered approximately 70,000 data points through this yearlong engagement process that informed the development of the vision and plan. The district leverages and appreciates many opportunities such as this one, to proactively engage and 136 | P a g e partner with local agencies and community-based organizations while it aims to continuously improve the school system for all students. In the 2023-2024 school year, the district launched its first industry advisory for the Agriculture Science Innovation Program, where industry experts consult with District personnel to help ensure that we better prepare students for the 21st century workplace. We have approximately 15-20 industry and community partners who advise District staff on current industry standards. Additionally, NVUSD staff established foundational partnerships with economic, workforce and educational partners, such as the Economic Development Division of Napa, Workforce Alliance of the North Bay, Yountville and Napa Chamber of Commerce during the 2023-2024 school year. The Executive Director of the Workforce Alliance of the North Bay is a member of the NVUSD College and Career Readiness Leadership Team that meets monthly. NVUSD will formalize these relationships through the development and launch of the Economic, Employment, Education Collaborative (“E3 Collaborative”). The E3 Collaborative brings industry partners, commerce, workforce, K-14 education together in support of a shared vision to create a talent pipeline in high wage, high demand local and regional industries and support students' career goals. Napa County Office of Education (NCOE) The Napa County Office of Education launched the Napa County Collaborative (NCC), in 2022, a regional partnership composed of K-12 partners, higher education, local government, business and community partners. The committee formed to align career readiness and workforce development with the goal of building a relationship infrastructure for ongoing work together. By braiding our approaches and combining resources we will meet the needs of our region and expand diverse opportunities for students. The NCC meets bi-monthly and hosts a yearly meeting to review CTE pathways and labor market information as well as make suggested changes to curriculum and equipment that meets labor market needs. We will continue to expand this work, incorporating additional community partners and ensuring we are addressing the needs of all students with engaging hands-on opportunities and internships. A new opportunity has become available to introduce middle school students to trade careers such as electrical, plumbing, HVAC, welding, and others. A non-profit established by former State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson will provide field trips to eighth graders, so that they can learn about the opportunities in these careers, including apprenticeships, while they are studying to learn the trade so that they leave after completing their studies with a certification AND a bank account, instead of debt accrued during 4 or more years of college. This is an attractive option for many students and families, and an option they may not be aware of. We piloted this program in the spring by taking 7th and 8th graders from Howell Mountain and Pope Valley to the electrical apprenticeship program in Napa. The students were very excited about being there, and they left with a great deal of information about the program and the salaries earned by certified electricians! The directors of these apprenticeship programs have offered to speak to parent groups so that parents understand the economics of being certified in a trade, so that the parents don't automatically discourage their children who express interest in these career fields. 137 | P a g e We appreciate this recommendation, as it will bring in employers of small businesses, who may not have been involved when we try to develop internships. This will open up a greater variety of career areas as well.
• R5

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  By September 30, 2024, the Napa County Board of Supervisors and Napa City Council identify financial resources to support community efforts to help families in need. Napa City Council This recommendation requires further analysis during the City's annual budget process. The recommendation is not clear on which programs named in the Grandy Jury report require additional financial support from the City of Napa. Additionally, the City's budget is adopted on a fiscal year (July 1-June 30) basis. Requests for expanded or new programming would be best identified through the established budget process which will begin again in early 2025 with adoption of the fiscal year 2025-26 budget by the City Council in June 2025. The City of Napa can be immediately supportive of existing programs through additional communication via the Youth Services Bureau of the Napa Police Department, the School Resource Officers (SROs), Napa Police Department's Special Enforcement Unit (SEU), Homeless Intervention Coordinator, and the City of Napa's various social media platforms.
• R6

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  K12 SWP Preliminary Awards for more details). The funding will help us upgrade CTE pathways, integrate technology, provide relevant support for underserved populations, and facilitate student transitions to Napa Valley College in Agricultural and Natural Resource Pathways and Agricultural Science. We will upgrade three existing CTE pathways: Agriscience, Culinary & Hospitality, and Animal Science, as well as help us explore the addition of one new pathway: AgTech. This revitalization of our CTE Pathways will include upgrading curriculum and aligning innovative technology; targeting recruitment, counselor and scheduling support for CTE Pathway completion; increasing continuation to post-secondary education pathways with our partnership with Napa Valley College; and increasing CTE teacher capacity through externships and professional 132 | P a g e development. Given Napa County’s agricultural industry, the district is very excited about its ability to pursue this grant and expand its CTE offerings for students.
• R7

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  By December 31, 2024, the Napa Valley Unified School District and the Napa County Office of Education strengthen the current stakeholder task force (law enforcement and schools) including non-profits which specialize in gang prevention and intervention and local industries. Napa Valley Unified School District (NVUSD) The School District is aware of the recent decision by the City of Santa Rosa to relaunch its gang crimes team in 2023 to curb street violence and understands from recent incidents in our own community, as well as from the conclusions of this Report, that gang violence is on the rise in our county. However, the district believes that the strengthening of the Gang Violence Task Force, which was initiated in the early to mid-2000’s, is best served by law enforcement, not the schools. While we are happy to participate in the work of the task force, as a school district, our primary objective is not to resurrect or “strengthen” a gang task force, but to educate children. Below, we have listed the existing partnerships that we have with law enforcement and other community groups to address safety concerns and gang prevention in our schools. 140 | P a g e Collaborative Partnerships with Law Enforcement Agencies & Community Groups The district has extensive collaborative partnerships with law enforcement agencies across the county, including with the Napa County Sheriff Department, American Canyon Police Department, City of Napa Police Department, the Napa County Probation Department as well as with the District’s School Resource Officers, the Napa County Office of Education, mental health advocates and experts, school counselors, and social workers. NVUSD hosts School Law which is a monthly meeting between NVUSD Student Services Staff and NPD and ACPD to support ongoing communication and partnership. In addition, the district consults with numerous other community experts in an effort to address key issues facing our students and to provide additional resources and support for them. Some of those key partnerships include: 1. FOCUS Program: The district participates in the Focusing on Children Under Stress (“FOCUS”) Program, led by the Napa County Office of Education, which supports children who may have experienced trauma, including being victims or witnesses of violence such as gang-related incidents. This program enhances communication between law enforcement and other first responders, schools, and community-based organizations (“CBOs”). Law enforcement and other first responders initiate notifications that are sent to designated school officials and include only the name and school of the student, without disclosing specific details of the incident. This process enables the monitoring of any potential effects on the student and ensures that appropriate support is provided as needed. 2. Tip Line: The district also collaborates with law enforcement to manage the anonymous tip texting line, Tip 411. This service allows students and others to confidentially report suspicious activities, such as bullying, gang related acts such as planned fights, graffiti tagging, or bringing weapons on school grounds. Additionally, the district utilizes a digital footprint program to evaluate and address students who may pose a threat to themselves or others, ensuring that any incident is handled with utmost seriousness. District Coordinator of Safety & Emergency Services The School District has appointed a full-time Coordinator of Safety & Emergency Services, who will actively collaborate with law enforcement and first responders to develop comprehensive emergency response protocols and safety measures to ensure school security. The Coordinator is working closely with the Superintendent and leadership to establish a district-wide incident command team, which will provide support to individual school incident command teams during emergencies and crises and facilitate internal communication within the District. Additionally, the Coordinator will oversee the support and implementation of comprehensive school safety plans, conduct safety assessments, and provide training and support to ensure preparedness. These efforts also include participation in a county-wide initiative aimed at strengthening support and response relationships among all six school districts, law enforcement, and first responders, fostering a robust countywide collaboration. Further efforts led by the Coordinator will involve the establishment of school multidisciplinary teams to conduct behavioral threat assessments. Behavioral threat assessments are evaluations designed to identify individuals who may pose a threat of violence and to intervene 141 | P a g e with appropriate resources to prevent such violence. To ensure these assessments are unbiased, the teams will comprise individuals with diverse backgrounds and expertise across various disciplines. The goal of these assessments is to detect when an individual may be on a path towards violence and to guide them onto a new, positive path by providing necessary support and resources, ultimately preventing violence in schools. Napa County Office of Education (NCOE) NCOE has created or is connected to several programs and coalitions that focus on prevention and intervention, but we agree with the recommendation and the need to expand and focus our efforts. To address school climate and safety, NCOE created a network called Napa Connection and Resilience to Empower Students ("CARES") that unites non-profits, Local Education Agencies ("LEAs"), and Community-Based Organizations ("CBOs") to address the needs of Napa's youth through holistic, wraparound services. This initiative facilitates effective communication between the school districts and multiple agencies, resulting in streamlined and increased access to services for youth and their families. By providing individualized support through an intensive case management approach, Napa CARES enhances early intervention and violence prevention. This is achieved by offering youth and families facing challenges comprehensive services tailored to their unique situations. NCOE has also brought the FOCUS Program to Napa County after seeing it's success in other areas of the state. The Focusing On Children Under Stress ("FOCUS") Program supports children who may have experienced trauma, including being victims or witnesses of violence such as gang-related incidents. This program enhances communication between law enforcement and other first responders, schools, and community-based organizations ("CBOs"). Law enforcement and other first responders initiate notifications that are sent to designated school officials and include only the name and school of the student, without disclosing specific details of the incident. This process enables the monitoring of any potential effects on the student and ensures that appropriate support is provided as needed, while maintaining student and family confidentiality. Additionally, the CATALYST Coalition was formed in 2005 as an answer to the higher- than- average youth substance use rates in Napa County. CATALYST focuses on reducing and preventing underage alcohol, marijuana and tobacco use in Napa County with the collective strengths, expertise, and engagement of our broad collaborative of interested community members. Community members meet and collaborate on ways to prevent youth substance use in Napa County, including activities for Take Down Tobacco, Red Ribbon Week, Alcohol Awareness Month, student wellness fairs, Social Host Awareness campaigns, substance use treatment, counseling, parent support group and much more. We also partner closely with the UpValley Family Centers to do this work, as well as the Napa Opioid Safety Coalition to inform parents and students about the dangers of even casual drug use. As our work continues to evolve, we have developed two spin-off coalitions-Open Doors and Napa CARES. While focused on student wellness efforts, these groups are creating access to student and family support. 142 | P a g e Napa County Office of education also has connections to several other groups who may be able to support these efforts. Although not directly related to gang involvement, a newly formed group called Pro-Inclusion Napa, whose aim is to reduce hate, is interested in becoming part of our task force. They have had students develop posters to counter the hate messages that have been seen around the county, and these posters were displayed in City Hall from July 2 through August 8th. Perhaps we can redirect some students to join the "Kindness" gang, and work with students in our elementary and middle schools to develop anti-hate campaigns.
• R8

  Page 149
  By September 30, 2024, the City of Napa Police Department create a succession plan for the Community Service Officer role in the Juvenile Diversion Program, including program expansion. City of Napa This recommendation will not be implemented because it is not reasonable. The City of Napa Civil Services Rules govern how vacancies are filled and require a thorough, fair and competitive process, and therefore the City cannot pre-designate a replacement for any classified position. However, the City of Napa appreciates the Grand Jury's recognition of the importance of continuity in the Community Service Officer role in the Juvenile Diversion program and has created methods to document processes and procedures, and ensure that all program staff are knowledgeable about the services provided. Further, the City of Napa and the Police Department are supportive of professional growth for all employees and have expanded access to internal and external development trainings and will continue to do so to allow for multiple staff to seek promotion or transfer into the Juvenile Diversion Program as positions become available.
• R9

  Page 149
  By December 31, 2025, the Napa County Sheriff, the City of Napa Police Department, the City of St. Helena Police Department, the City of Calistoga Police Department, the District Attorney’s office and the Napa County Probation Department create an integrated data collection system to improve the efficiency of trend monitoring associated with gangs and gang crimes. City of Napa This recommendation requires further analysis. With the dissolution of the CALGangs data system (AB90 - 2017), each law enforcement agency in Napa County now maintains their own data on criminal behavior in each community. Currently, Napa Sheriff's Office and Napa Police Department share a records management system (Mark43) that allows law enforcement staff to see unrestricted criminal data. These agencies are the larger agencies in our County and account for most of the criminal and gang related activity. Other agencies maintain their own records, but information is also shared among all agencies as needed. By October 1, 2024, the City of Napa Police Department will collaborate with partners at the Napa Sheriff's Office, St. Helena Police Department, Calistoga Police Department, District 143 | P a g e Attorney's Office and Napa County Probation to review current data collection systems and develop a joint recommendation on options for replacement or improvements to assist law enforcement in monitoring gang activity trends. The Police Chief will report outcomes of this collaborative effort to the Napa City Council.
• R15-20

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  industry and community partners who advise District staff on current industry standards. Additionally, NVUSD staff established foundational partnerships with economic, workforce and educational partners, such as the Economic Development Division of Napa, Workforce Alliance of the North Bay, Yountville and Napa Chamber of Commerce during the 2023-2024 school year. The Executive Director of the Workforce Alliance of the North Bay is a member of the NVUSD College and Career Readiness Leadership Team that meets monthly. NVUSD will formalize these relationships through the development and launch of the Economic, Employment, Education Collaborative (“E3 Collaborative”). The E3 Collaborative brings industry partners, commerce, workforce, K-14 education together in support of a shared vision to create a talent pipeline in high wage, high demand local and regional industries and support students' career goals.