The Superintendent of the Escondido Union School District delivered his second annual State of the District Address at Escondido’s California Center for the Arts on Monday, Feb. 5.
“The State of the District Address is part of our commitment to transparency and accountability to the students, families, teachers, and communities that make our school district a great school district,” said EUSD superintendent Luis Rankins-Ibarra. “We are proud to share our achievements, state the district’s goals for the future, and recognize the community partners that help us to provide quality education to our students.”
Rankins-Ibarra shared EUSD’s academic achievements for this year and highlighted the many community partnerships that continue to support the education of Escondido’s elementary and middle school students.
EUSD is the sixth largest elementary school district in California, serving approximately 16,200 students across 23 schools. With a workforce of 1,900 employees and an operating budget of just over $194 million, EUSD is the second largest employer in Escondido.
The Superintendent talked about new initiatives for the district such as the new one-to-one iPad initiative, which will provide every student in EUSD an iPad by the year 2021.
“This year, students in grades four and five are receiving their iPads as part of their instructional program in our district. And we are going to keep increasing the number of iPads available to our students, until every student has one, all the way from kindergarten to 12th grade,” Rankins-Ibarra said to La Prensa San Diego. “The students will be able to take the iPads home to do their homework.”
Students will be able to access copies of their textbooks and work on projects utilizing various multimedia modes, with all content being filtered through the Districts’ secure network to provide an enriched learning experience.
The Superintendent also talked about the progress on the school district’s Facility Bond Program.
“To assist us in actualizing the unlimited potential of every learner, we are fortunate to have had the support of our community on our 2014 bond initiative which provided $182.1 million to assist us in renovating and modernizing our school facilities,” Rankins-Ibarra added.
The superintendent also highlighted the District’s commitment to a responsible use of public funds and the high bond ratings the District has received.
The Public Champion Award was also awarded to the San Diego Discovery Children’s Museum of Escondido during the event.
