Students and staff from the Sunnyvale School District came together at Columbia Middle School on Oct. 14 to talk about achievements, priorities and challenges at the inaugural State of the District event.

Alexandra Esperon Flores, an eighth-grader at Sunnyvale Middle School, talked about changes at her school, including new student leadership programs and a new two-story classroom wing. She said the new building “makes the environment much more vivid. Every time I walk into the Spartan Village, I feel a community and culture grow and come together.”

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The Spartan Village complex was one of the achievements noted at the event. Others included an enhanced bus system that has helped increase attendance and an improved child nutrition program that includes at least one breakfast and two lunch entrées cooked from scratch daily at each school, fresh produce throughout the week and expanded vegetarian options.

Attendance is among the challenges the district has faced in recent years, as chronic absenteeism more than doubled during the pandemic. Speakers noted that chronic absenteeism is down 30% from that high point, though it is still elevated for some groups, particularly Latino, Black and Indigenous students.

The district also faces financial challenges, with expenses exceeding general fund revenue starting in the 2024-25 school year. The district reduced its deficit this year and expects to shrink it further in each of the next few years.

The district is also looking at ways to close achievement gaps for Latino students, English Learners, students with disabilities and socioeconomically disadvantaged students. San Miguel Elementary School fifth-grader Santiago Lopez said Juntos, the district’s Spanish-English dual language program, has helped him on multiple fronts.

“Because of this program, I am bilingual, and I am really proud of that,” he said. “I know that speaking two languages will help me meet new people, understand new cultures and have amazing opportunities.”