LOS ALAMITOS, Calif. — This Thursday, Oct. 10, at 8:30 a.m., Superintendent Dr. Pulver and members of the Los Alamitos Board of Education hosted the State of the District at the Cypress Navy Golf Course. This breakfast event, which invited parents and teachers to attend, focused not only on commemorating the educational and facility achievements of the district, but on encouraging self-efficacy and emotional intelligence in the community as a whole.

Following a performance by Los Alamitos High School’s orchestra and the national anthem performed by LAHS junior Jenna Currey, Dr. Pulver took time to recognize the efforts of his colleagues. Board member Megan Cutolli’s service, in light of her imminent retirement, was also highlighted. Dr. Pulver also acknowledged a number of community leaders in attendence, including Mayor Tanya Doby, Seal Beach police chief Michael Henderson and Orange County Fire Authority Division 1 chief Chris Covey.

Carrie Logue, executive director of the Los Alamitos Education Foundation, spoke on how proud she was that LAEF was able to approve 52 grants and a grand total of over $150,000 to help teachers make change in their classrooms. The $3.1 million LAEF donated over the past 10 years, made possible by the support of the community, was also a point of high esteem. The raffle for four Rams vs. Seahawks game tickets, given out at the end of the event, seemed to enhance the audience’s interest in what Logue had to say.

While the event’s title echoes that of the State of the Union, a presidential speaking opportunity to report on national problems and propose solutions, the State of the District lacked this negative tone. Instead, Dr. Pulver emphasized the district’s accomplishments and resounding sense of unity.

“That’s what Los Al is about,” Dr. Pulver said during the speech. “It’s an amazing community (where) three different communities come together.”

This atmosphere of community togetherness was something Dr. Pulver gave much attention to, elaborating on the importance of coming together to make education accessible. It seems that part of this goal has been reached, as evidenced by Dr. Pulver’s elaboration on LAUSD’s graduation rates.

“It doesn’t matter what background, the income, whether on an IEP or whether (a student is) an English language learner (or not). 100% (of LAHS students) have graduated, and the fact that we’ve done this two years in a row is remarkable,” Dr. Pulver said.

LAUSD’s high test scores, despite relatively low funding, were highlighted as prominent educational achievements. Other school achievements were mentioned, too, the majority focused on bettering LAHS. The STEM building, classroom remodeling and expanded Griffin Gallery were all sources of pride, as was the new gymnasium project on campus, which Dr. Pulver projected would be finished by next fall.

Another major campus improvement was the expansion of WellSpaces to all nine of LAUSD’s schools, which represents the Board’s commitment to expanding both self-efficacy and emotional intelligence in students.

Partnering with Stanford University’s Challenge Success program and Yale University’s Center for Emotional Intelligence exemplified Dr. Pulver’s strong emphasis on community and supporting students. The former helped induce remedied homework and grading policies while expanding students’ concepts of success to teach them to honor their paths to get there. Dr. Pulver stressed how crucial these teachings are.

“Students have multiple pathways, these squiggly lines, from where they are to adulthood. Every pathway is valid, and we should be honoring (them),” he said to his audience.

The partnership with Yale additionally aimed to train teachers to teach LAUSD’s youth emotional skills, to help them regulate their emotions, form healthy relationships and perform well in school. Yet Dr. Pulver still wished to extend the skills of self-efficacy and emotional intelligence to the more mature audience sitting in on the State of the District.

Thus, he introduced the concept of the “best self” toward the end of his speech, where, after presenting a video on the topic, he encouraged the audience to choose three adjectives they thought described said best self. As defined by the presentation, the best self is the person one wishes to present oneself as, someone one can be proud of and set a good example with.

Next, Dr. Pulver described what he titles a “meta moment,” in which, when feeling strong emotions, someone stops before acting in order to behave like their “best self.”

“The more you’re aware of the meta moment and the pause, the quicker over time you’re going to automatically show up as your best self,” said Dr. Pulver. “It’s like muscle memory.”

Hopefully, by educating a community of parents, teachers and their students, Dr. Pulver can continue to shape a district full of remarkable achievements, grand and small, long after the audience closes the meeting with the traditional ‘And that’s the wrap-up!’” After all, according to Dr. Pulver, making waves isn’t as difficult as it sounds.

“To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan… and not enough time,” he said.

From the speech at this year’s State of the District, and the eagerness to adopt many new projects, it seems the Board has this more than covered.