RUSD Team Celebrates The Golden Bell Award: (Center) Rowland Unified Board of Education President David Malkin, Superintendent Alejandro Flores, with student graduates celebrate the achievement of RUSD being awarded a Golden Bell Award for Student Voice from the California School Boards Association. Students (pictured left to right): Pedro Nevarez, (alumni from Nogales High School, currently attending USC and studying to be a Pediatric Surgeon) Crystal Shi, (alumni from Rowland High School, currently attending UCI and studying to be a Marriage and Family Therapist), and Adan Moreno, (alumni from Nogales High School, currently attending Pitzer College who plans to be a Psychologist).
Right to Left: RUSD Superintendent Alejandro Flores with Board Members Kevin Hayakawa, Ph.D., Cary Chen, David Malkin, Agnes Gonzalez, newly elected Board Member Ellen Park and re-elected Board Member Erik Venegas.
CALIFORNIA SCHOOL BOARD ASSOCIATION HONORS ROWLAND UNIFIED WITH GOLDEN BELL AWARD FOR STUDENT VOICE
ROWLAND HEIGHTS, CA – DECEMBER 11, 2024 – Rowland Unified School District (RUSD) Superintendent Alejandro Flores announced that the California School Boards Association (CSBA) has awarded the District a Golden Bell Award for its original “Student Voice” initiative. The District’s student voice approach not only engages students from elementary to high school but provides them with the opportunity to directly impact the resources they need at school to be successful. The CSBA Golden Bell Awards promotes excellence in education and school board governance by recognizing outstanding programs that highlight best practices in school districts throughout California. RUSD was honored at the Golden Bell Awards for its focus on Student Engagement and Empowerment at the CSBA State Conference held in Anaheim on Friday, December 6, 2024.
“The RUSD Student Voice program has transformed our District by ensuring that our students’ voices are not just heard but are a driving force in shaping their educational experience,” said Superintendent Flores. “Our Board of Education wholeheartedly supports this program and is extremely proud of the significant difference it has had in creating a more inclusive and responsive learning environment for our students.”
It is rare that students are included to have a direct impact in the decision-making process of their education. RUSD has developed an approach to ensure students from all demographics have an authentic voice in the District’s annual Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP), the key document that aligns the District’s resource needs with budgetary allocations. In addition to student input and focus groups for students in grades 4-12, students actively participated in advisory panels where they helped design questions and analyze the data alongside district leaders. Students joined parents and staff in making final recommendations on the 2024-2025 LCAP.
“Being part of the Student Voice project at Rowland Unified was a transformative experience for me. It was the first time I felt like my thoughts and opinions as a student truly mattered to the people making decisions,” said Adan Moreno, a graduate of Nogales High School. “I was able to speak directly about issues that impacted my peers and me, like the need for more mental health resources, representation in curriculum, and creating safer spaces for students from all backgrounds.” Moreno is currently studying at Pitzer College, double majoring in Chicanx Latinx Studies and Sociology.
“Over the past nine years, Rowland Unified School District’s Student Voice initiative has provided meaningful opportunities to engage with a diverse representation of students and it has been a game changer,” said Dr. Brian Huff, Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services. “As a result of students sharing their need for mental health resources, the Board of Education shifted resources to ensure each school has a behavior and mental health team consisting of a counselor, behavior support assistant, and assigned social workers to each school. Students also shared the need for accessible academic tutoring which resulted in the expansion of after school tutoring services, both in person and online.”
Currently, RUSD is piloting the expansion of Student Voice to include valuable feedback from students in Transitional Kindergarten through third grade. The development of a new way to collect input from these young learners includes using simpler vocabulary and input questions with visual queues using the faces of emojis, along with video.
The power of Student Voice in Rowland Unified can also be seen with the adoption of the District’s new strategic plan. The RUSD Board of Education convened a Student Voice Team of students from each school in grades 5-12 to provide detailed guidance on what mattered most to them at school regarding school climate, teaching and learning, and their future. The Board adopted a document with goals and strategies and a new district promise to students: “Each student is valued supported, engaged, and empowered for the future of their choice.”