Board members of the Kings Canyon Unified School District met to discuss the use of a

grant of just over $1 million to increase or improve services for foster youth, low-income
students, and English learners to improve A-G eligibility and approval of construction of new
facilities within the district.

A-G requirements are a series of 15 year-long classes that high school students are
required to take to be eligible for admission to any four-year university in California. As part of
the requirements, students are required to take two years of history and/or social science, four
years of English, three years of math, two years of laboratory science, two years of a foreign
language, one year of visual and performing arts, and one college preparatory elective.
According to John Campbell, the superintendent of KCUSD, the requirements are set in place
by both the CSU and UC systems to provide minimum requirements for application for
admission.

“We want students to be able to have the widest array of options upon their graduation
from our District. While not all students will choose to apply to a four-year university out of high
school, we believe it is important that we provide students with that choice,” said Campbell.
“Research indicates that students that attend four-year universities have a higher likelihood of
graduating with a bachelor's degree. We want to make sure our students have that access if
that is the route they want to take.”

The district hopes to achieve its goal by improving baseline programming through an
analysis of master schedules, calibrating individual counseling strategies with standardized
expectations for course progression, and providing professional development to support
instruction in support of a culture and climate that nurtures and grows A-G eligibility for all
students.

The purpose of the master schedules would be to ensure that all students would have
access to paths that will lead to being A-G eligible. This would entail an evaluation of the master
schedules at all high schools to analyze areas of inequity to determine a course of action to fill
any gaps that may prevent students, especially foster youth, low-income students, and English
learners from being A-G eligible. Through this evaluation, necessary changes will be made to
increase access to A-G courses, especially for identified groups. Additionally, counseling
expectations and strategies for the purpose of supporting students in these groups would be
reviewed and revised as needed by a committee of District leaders, site leads, teachers,
counselors, and students. KCUSD will provide additional professional learning opportunities for
teachers geared towards providing the best instruction possible utilizing research-based
strategies through AVID and The College Board. This plan is expected to be approved by April
1.

John Ahlin is the principal of Reedley High School, a high school within KCUSD
jurisdiction. Ahlin said the allocation of funds for A-G requirements will aid students who are
struggling in their studies, and give them the chance to meet admission requirements for
universities in the CSU and UC systems.

“The biggest presentation that you saw tonight is the A-G grant. It will have the most
impact on Reedley High because if that money is allocated, it will give us more opportunities to
openly offer students ways to make up classes they struggled in,” Ahlin said.

The board also discussed the approval of the purchase of six new buildings that will be
put on campuses throughout the district. Joe Arruda is the current District Facilities Project
Manager for KCUSD and the former learning director of Reedley High School. He said that
through this approval, Reedley High School will receive a new special education classroom that
will be built to accommodate students with moderate difficulties.

“This is going to be one of the first ones in the district, and probably the Valley that is
designed just for special education students,” said Arruda. By making these accommodations,
the district hopes to improve the learning environment for these students with moderate
difficulties and help them excel in their studies.

Ahlin added that in addition to the special education classroom, the high school will be
installing air conditioning units to the auto shop and gymnasium.

Budget line - KCUSD Board Meeting (Scott): The Kings Canyon Unified School District holds
board meetings twice a month. At its most recent meeting, two topics of importance were the
recent approval of grant money to increase access of A-G Requirement completion for foster
youth, low-income students, and English learners to improve A-G eligibility; as well as approval
for the use of funds to begin new construction projects within the district.

Mission Statement:
- I plan to write a story on the most recent Kings Canyon Unified School District board
meeting. I want this story to be based on the information given during the presentations
in the meeting and the interviews of the top administrators in the district. The
administrators in question are John Ahlin, John Campbell, and Joe Arruda. John Ahlin is
the principal of Reedley High School. John Campbell is the current superintendent of
KCUSD. Joe Arruda is the current facilities manager of KCUSD.
- What I know before reporting has happened: I know that the board of KCUSD holds two
meetings a month. I know that two items on the agenda are the approval of recent funds
to begin construction projects that benefit the students within the district; including a new
special education classroom and the addition of new air conditioning units.
- Who will I interview?: I plan to interview John Ahlin, Joe Arruda, and John Campbell,
who are all administrators within KCUSD. John Ahlin is the principal of Reedley High
School. John Campbell is the superintendent of KCUSD. Joe Arruda is the District
Facilities Project Manager for KCUSD.

Contacts:
Joe Arruda, arruda-j@kcusd.com
John Ahlin, ahlin-j@kcusd.com
John Campbell, campbell-j@kcusd.com

Social Media Post:

Photo, video or graphic to illustrate the story:

A picture of the KCUSD Educational Support Center in Reedley, CA.