Stockton Unified to host town hall meetings on school safety, student achievement

The Stockton Unified School District is holding a series of town hall meetings to discuss the district's challenges and listen to the concerns of parents.

The next town hall meeting begins at 5:15 p.m. Thursday at Cesar Chavez High School and covers safety, communication, and the Stockton Unified Department of Public Safety's name change.

"SUSD town hall meetings are a chance to engage with our community and work together to give students the world class education they deserve," Stockton Unified Superintendent Michelle Rodriguez said. "Our community's voice matters and feedback from these meetings help us create results for our students."

Safety has been a key concern at Stockton Unified and other local school districts in recent years.

A 2022-2023 San Joaquin County Grand Jury report found that "more can be done" to keep students safe in San Joaquin County schools. The report analyzed the safety measures in place at the 14 public school districts in the county, including Stockton Unified.

Since the release of the report in June 2023, Stockton Unified has rolled out several safety upgrades at its schools, including a new school visitor management system, the installation of security cameras, and youth violence prevention programs.

More SUSD town halls planned

After Thursday's town hall, there will be two additional meetings in October: one covering English learner student achievement at 5:15 p.m. on Oct. 1 at Hong Kingston Elementary School, and another covering special education student achievement at 5:15 p.m. on Oct. 29 at Walton Special Center.

"The town hall meetings are designed to have important, safe, constructive dialogue to move SUSD onward," Stockton Unified Board President Kennetha Stevens said. "We know it's important to hear the valued voices from our parent community. We will move the district forward in its mission to provide high quality education and access to allow students to be college, career, and community ready."

Record reporter Hannah Workman covers news in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached at hworkman@recordnet.com or on Twitter @byhannahworkman. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow .

This article originally appeared on The Record: Stockton Unified to host town hall meetings on school safety, student achievement