By McLean Grimes
Executive News Editor
The Manhattan Beach Unified School District (MBUSD) Board held a meeting on Wednesday at
5 p.m. to discuss the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP)
results.
The majority of the meeting consisted of a presentation of data by Asst. Supt. of Educational
Services Dr. Irene Gonzalez-Castillo about the CAASPP results. District-wide, 80 percent of
students met or exceeded the performance level standards, according to Gonzalez-Castillo. The
results in all four testing categories for grades 3-11 were shared. Mira Costa school board
representatives Emma Darrow and Sophia Delino suggested a change to testing dates and for
teachers to put emphasis on the importance of the tests.
“I was very excited to see this growth in third, fourth and fifth [grade results] for math,” said
Gonzalez-Castillo. “This is an area that we definitely put a lot of emphasis on in our district.”
At the beginning of the meeting, Manhattan Beach Middle School (MBMS) student
representative Tara Shivpuri, Darrow and Delino introduced themselves and gave an update on
activities at their schools. The floor then opened up to public comments, which were limited to
three minutes each.
“A student board member goes to every school board meeting and gives updates to the public
[on] what is happening at Mira Costa,” said Darrow. “We give what we think is the student
perspective on a variety of issues, and we are able to vote on certain issues as well.”
Next, Superintendent Dr. Jonathan Bowes gave updates on MBUSD, including activities related
to Teach Peace Week and Costa’s seven National Merit Scholarship finalists. Bowes also
recognized senior Joylynn Lee, who was accepted to the American Youth Symphony
Fellowship. Several action items were approved, including the Healthy Schools Service
Agreement between Beach Cities Health District (BCHD) and MBUSD, which provides MBUSD
a grant to administer social emotional learning curriculum and substance abuse prevention
programs.
“I am excited for tomorrow’s International Peace Day at all of our schools, including the evening
[event] being hosted at the civic center,” said Board member Tina Shivpuri. “I had the honor of
introducing the Mira Costa choir [who] sang ‘lift me up.’”
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