This issue of Voices from the Field introduces the Cajon Valley Union School District (CVUSD), one of five CEI: Cohort I districts, and highlights the experiences, voices, and stories of three CEI district team members and an Afghan American family with children in the district. These stories center around their collaboration to rescue district students who were stranded in Afghanistan when US troops withdrew from the country. Through its participation in CEI, CVUSD is addressing its Problem of Practice:

Based on the CVUSD Parent Gallup Survey 48% of families are indifferent about their child’s school education, not necessarily negative but neutral towards it, and 12% are actively disengaged with 39% of families fully engaged.

In an effort to increase family engagement and build relationships with our families, we would like to increase the percentage of engaged families by focusing on the first Gallup question in the Parent Survey: My child’s school always delivers on what it promises.

Cajon Valley Union School District is located in El Cajon, California. Just 15 minutes east of San Diego, it is the fifth-largest city in San Diego County. The Cajon Valley Union School District is a direct reflection of the growing and richly diverse community in El Cajon.

In past years, CVUSD has been a TK–8 school district, with students transferring into the neighboring high school district. This year, they are happy to announce and now provide TK–12 schools for their students. The opening of their first new charter high school has provided this expansion. The high school, Bostonia Global, is proposed as a TK–14 charter school, with an educational model specifically designed to develop the unique strengths, interests, and values of each student on their pathway to gainful employment. The district is currently home to 27 schools: 15 elementary schools; 11 preschools, 10 of which are located on elementary school sites;
6 middle schools; 1 charter high school; 3 academies; and 1 dual language immersion school.

The demographics of the Cajon Valley Union School District include:
• Approximately 16,366 Students
• 65% Low-SES Households
• 45% English Language Learners
• 37% Hispanic
• 14.5% Arabic/Chaldean
• 8% African American
• 5% Afghan
• Over 40 different languages are represented.
• 42% of newcomer students in the last 5 years have come from Afghanistan.
• As of March 31, 2022, the district has received 396 students from other countries, 58% of them from Afghanistan.