Coronado High School has reached a 100% graduation rate, Principal Karin Mellina told the Coronado Unified School District (CUSD) board at its Oct. 15 meeting.

The milestone came alongside a jump in college and career readiness. Some 84% of graduating students scored high on that measure, up from 81% the prior year, Mellina said in her report, first reported by the Coronado Times.

"Look at those numbers, they have just gone up over the years," Mellina said.

Enrollment, however, has slipped. The school counted 992 students this year, down from 1,041 in 2022-2023. Mellina said smaller class sizes have meant more individualized attention. About 25% of students are interdistrict transfers, 16% attend the Coronado School of the Arts (CoSA) program and 77% have met A-G course requirements for University of California and California State University admission.

On state testing, Coronado High earned the highest rating on the California School Dashboard across all subjects. The district also reported a decrease in D and F rates.

Screen-time gap divides parents and teachers

Superintendent Karl Mueller presented a district-wide technology review that exposed a sharp divide between parent perceptions and teacher reports on student screen time.

Parents at the middle and high school levels estimated students spend 90 to 120 minutes per day on Chromebooks, according to the review. Teachers told a different story. Across all grade levels, 80% of instructional tasks rely on physical materials, the review found. Elementary teachers reported students spend fewer than 30 minutes per day on devices.

The review recommended preserving hands-on learning, including physical books and handwriting practice. Secondary teachers warned against what the report called "cognitive surrender" to AI tools, while parents raised concerns about after-hours Chromebook use.

Mueller said the district has restricted YouTube access at secondary levels to staff-vetted educational content only.

Air conditioning could cost $40-70 million

The board also confronted the price of cooling Coronado's aging school buildings. Trustee Fitzhugh Lee, who serves on the district's HVAC committee with Trustee Renee Cavanaugh, put the cost at $40 million to $70 million.

Mueller said the district reviewed historical temperature data and existing facility studies but found the data did not account for the intense heat Coronado experienced this year. Most school buildings lack the infrastructure to support air conditioning. The 500 building at Coronado High, which houses math and history classes, was the only one built with central AC, though a few classrooms elsewhere have split systems, the Coronado NewsCA reported.

Mueller told the Coronado NewsCA that a 2022 cost estimate pegged the project at $40 million and that the money would have to come from the general fund unless the district finds alternative financing. Trustee Malachy Sandie said at the Oct. 15 meeting that the district needs the infrastructure "to have the perfect, optimal learning environment."

Other board action

CoSA presented the district with a $200,000 check to support arts programming. The district introduced a proposed e-bike and e-scooter policy that would ban the vehicles for students in grades TK through 5. Students 12 and older could ride e-bikes to school but would need to complete a safety program and obtain a permit. That policy returns for a vote at the Nov. 12 board meeting.

The next regular CUSD board meeting is Thursday, Nov. 12.