New CDE model designation program recognizes eight community day schools

www.acsa.org

April 15, 2024

Eight schools have been selected as Model Community Day Schools (MCDSs) for 2024, the first year of implementation. Community day schools are schools for students who have been expelled from school or who have had problems with attendance or behavior. The MCDS Recognition Program is a partnership between the California Department of Education and the California Continuation Education Association Plus.

“I commend these remarkable schools for demonstrating extraordinary commitment to students and their families,” said state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, in a news release. “By providing students with myriad educational options, mental health resources, and other support services, these schools have addressed students’ needs, elevated their strengths and assets, and set them on a trajectory for success. This comprehensive support has prepared them with the necessary skills to move toward successfully completing high school, transitioning to higher education — academic and/or vocational — and entering the workforce.”

During the three years that schools are designated as an MCDS, the CDE and CCEA Plus will identify them as resources for districts that are planning to establish new community day schools and for new and existing community day schools that would like expert support to expand and deepen their educational practices.

Schools were required to perform a self-evaluation focused on the following elements: 1) School Profile; 2) School Management; 3) Educating “This Whole Child” (Instruction); 4) Educating “This Whole Child” (Social, Emotional and Mental Health and Development); and 5) School Evaluation of Effectiveness.

Each of the honorees retain their designation for three years and will be recognized at the CCEA Plus 2024 State Conference. Honorees are required to submit to the CDE an annual assurance of conformance to model school guidelines for the second and third years of designation. The Annual Assurance of Services Form will be available on the CDE MCDS Recognition Program web page. The following Model Community Day Schools were named for 2024 (by county):

Fresno County

• Pathway Community Day School, Central Unified School District. • Sanger Community Day School, Sanger Unified School District.

Los Angeles County • Dorothy V. Johnson High School, Los Angeles Unified School District. • Montebello Community Day School, Montebello Unified School District.

Mendocino County • Lighthouse Community Day School, Fort Bragg Unified School District.

Orange County • REACH Academy, Santa Ana Unified School District.

San Bernardino County • Hesperia Community Day School, Hesperia Unified School District.

Tulare County • Lindsay Community Day, Lindsay Unified School District.