⚠️ Aviso de traducción: Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings and Recommendations 9 findings
F1
Trustees are not meeting their basic responsibilities for ensuring accountability and providing community leadership in a number of critical areas detailed in this report. These include SJUSD leadership turnover, trust in leadership, student mental health services, safety plans, stocking Narcan, employee investigations, and hiring processes. Trustees too often accept SJUSD leadership explanations and justifications, which may be inaccurate or incomplete; do not sufficiently question SJUSD results; do not require detailed follow-up to ensure progress; and too rarely ask for SJUSD performance relative to external benchmarks or relative to other school districts within Santa Clara County.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
SJUSD should ensure Board meeting agendas reflect topics important to the community, including those detailed in this report. These topics should be regularly reviewed at public Board meetings, with detailed plans for follow-up to track progress. This recommendation should be implemented
F2
The unusually high levels of leadership turnover since 2021 has been exacerbated by poor leadership practices and low morale.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
SJUSD should authorize an independent third-party assessment, with participant anonymity, to investigate the causes of high turnover over the past three years. The assessment should provide SJUSD with recommendations to reduce turnover, a means to track ongoing turnover as compared to neighboring school districts, and a means to objectively assess the leadership culture. This recommendation should be implemented
F3
On numerous occasions, SJUSD has failed to ensure its management hiring processes meet its own guidelines for integrity and impartiality leading to mistrust in the process.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
SJUSD should authorize an independent third-party assessment of the management hiring process over the past three years with a particular focus on: • impartiality in determining which candidates are selected as finalists. • ensuring results from job skills tests are factored into the determination of finalists. • consistency in determining when management job openings are filled by direct placement versus a full open interview process. This recommendation should be implemented
F4
SJUSD has failed to conduct appropriate or complete internal investigations in multiple instances over the past three years. These failures call into question SJUSD’s understanding of its investigatory responsibilities and have undermined trust among leadership, employees, and the community.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
SJUSD should authorize an independent third-party review of the completeness and correctness of past investigation processes, to identify missteps, and recommend process or policy improvements. This recommendation should be implemented
F5
Based upon multiple data points, SJUSD employees have a low level of trust in SJUSD leadership.
Related Recommendations (1)
R5
SJUSD should assess the causes of low levels of trust in the SJUSD leadership and develop a plan and timeline for improvements. This recommendation should be implemented
F6
SJUSD’s current plans to open wellness centers are inadequate and inconsistent with its publicly stated priority for expanded student mental health services. Current plans do not meet the objective of putting a wellness center in all secondary schools. There is inadequate funding for the wellness centers and the planning has largely been left to individual school administrators as opposed to an SJUSD-led plan. Trustees are unaware of SJUSD’s lack of progress relative to other school districts.
Related Recommendations (3)
R6a
SJUSD should conduct a comprehensive review of the current state of wellness centers at secondary schools and prepare a detailed public report on the status of the implementation of those centers with specific timelines for implementation. This recommendation should be implemented
R6b
If SJUSD is to fulfill its stated priority to fund mental health services for students, SJUSD should provide a long-term sustainable funding plan for fully staffed full-time wellness centers at all secondary school sites. This recommendation should be implemented
R6c
SJUSD should provide an accelerated implementation plan with a clear timeline to achieve the objective of fully staffed full-time wellness centers at all secondary school sites. SJSUD staff should lead the plan in coordination with principals. This recommendation should be implemented
F7
SJUSD does not have a well-qualified, local, district-wide leader who is accountable for all safety planning, preparedness, and emergency response efforts.
Related Recommendations (1)
R7
SJUSD should create a dedicated staff position to lead and coordinate all safety planning and emergency response activities across SJUSD. This role can be modeled after similar positions in other Santa Clara County districts. Responsibilities should include, but not be limited to: • Act as the on-site leader for emergency response teams, including emergency communications. • Update safety protocols based on accepted best practices. • Train staff on safety drills. • Ensure implementation of the most current best practices for school safety plans. • Assist school site teams to improve their plans. • Manage community engagement to increase involvement in safety plans. This recommendation should be implemented
F8
SJUSD does not stock Narcan or an alternative naloxone medication at its schools. SJUSD does not provide training for all staff on how to administer Narcan, creating an unnecessary risk of on- campus opioid overdose deaths and placing students and staff in jeopardy.
Related Recommendations (1)
R8
SJUSD should ensure that Narcan is widely available at all secondary school sites and train all school site and SJUSD district office staff on how it is administered. This recommendation should be implemented
F9
SJUSD does not offer any livestream or video recordings of its Board meetings. Some materials presented at the meetings are not available to the public. The meetings are among the least accessible of any district in Santa Clara County, thus reducing the transparency of its actions and engagement with SJUSD constituents.
Related Recommendations (1)
R9
SJUSD should implement hybrid-style Board meetings that include: • Online viewing of meetings. • Remote comments during meetings. • Video recording of meetings. • Online access to all Board presentations. This recommendation should be implemented
Conclusions 22
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CL1 Page 27Trustees are not meeting their basic responsibilities for ensuring accountability and providing community leadership in a number of critical areas detailed in this report. These include SJUSD leadership turnover, trust in leadership, student mental health services, safety plans, stocking Narcan, employee investigations, and hiring processes. Trustees too often accept SJUSD leadership explanations and justifications, which may be inaccurate or incomplete; do not sufficiently question SJUSD results; do not require detailed follow-up to ensure progress; and too rarely ask for SJUSD performance relative to external benchmarks or relative to other school districts within Santa Clara County.
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CL2 Page 27The unusually high levels of leadership turnover since 2021 has been exacerbated by poor leadership practices and low morale.
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CL3 Page 29SJUSD does not stock Narcan or an alternative naloxone medication at its schools. SJUSD does not provide training for all staff on how to administer Narcan, creating an unnecessary risk of on- campus opioid overdose deaths and placing students and staff in jeopardy.
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CL4 Page 27On numerous occasions, SJUSD has failed to ensure its management hiring processes meet its own guidelines for integrity and impartiality leading to mistrust in the process.
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CL5 Page 28SJUSD has failed to conduct appropriate or complete internal investigations in multiple instances over the past three years. These failures call into question SJUSD’s understanding of its investigatory responsibilities and have undermined trust among leadership, employees, and the community.
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CL6 Page 28Based upon multiple data points, SJUSD employees have a low level of trust in SJUSD leadership.
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CL7 Page 28SJUSD’s current plans to open wellness centers are inadequate and inconsistent with its publicly stated priority for expanded student mental health services. Current plans do not meet the objective of putting a wellness center in all secondary schools. There is inadequate funding for the wellness centers and the planning has largely been left to individual school administrators as opposed to an SJUSD-led plan. Trustees are unaware of SJUSD’s lack of progress relative to other school districts.
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CL8 Page 29SJUSD does not have a well-qualified, local, district-wide leader who is accountable for all safety planning, preparedness, and emergency response efforts.
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CL9 Page 30SJUSD does not offer any livestream or video recordings of its Board meetings. Some materials presented at the meetings are not available to the public. The meetings are among the least accessible of any district in Santa Clara County, thus reducing the transparency of its actions and engagement with SJUSD constituents.
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CL10 Page 27impartiality in determining which candidates are selected as finalists.
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CL11 Page 28ensuring results from job skills tests are factored into the determination of finalists.
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CL12 Page 28consistency in determining when management job openings are filled by direct placement versus a full open interview process. This recommendation should be implemented by December 31, 2024. Finding 4 SJUSD has failed to conduct appropriate or complete internal investigations in multiple instances over the past three years. These failures call into question SJUSD’s understanding of its investigatory responsibilities and have undermined trust among leadership, employees, and the community.
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CL13 Page 29Act as the on-site leader for emergency response teams, including emergency communications.
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CL14 Page 29Update safety protocols based on accepted best practices.
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CL15 Page 29Train staff on safety drills.
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CL16 Page 29Ensure implementation of the most current best practices for school safety plans.
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CL17 Page 29Assist school site teams to improve their plans.
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CL18 Page 29Manage community engagement to increase involvement in safety plans. This recommendation should be implemented by September 30, 2024. Finding 8 SJUSD does not stock Narcan or an alternative naloxone medication at its schools. SJUSD does not provide training for all staff on how to administer Narcan, creating an unnecessary risk of on- campus opioid overdose deaths and placing students and staff in jeopardy.
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CL19 Page 30Online viewing of meetings.
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CL20 Page 30Remote comments during meetings.
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CL21 Page 30Video recording of meetings.
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CL22 Page 30Online access to all Board presentations. This recommendation should be implemented by December 31, 2024.
Agency Responses 1
Government agencies' official responses to this report's findings and recommendations. Click on a response to see the structured breakdown.