Superintendent Michelle Rodriguez highlighted Stockton Unified School District’s efforts to improve school safety, literacy and graduation rates and prepare students for a changing workforce during her annual State of the District address Thursday at Edison High School.
The district has invested $19 million in school safety over the past three years and expanded access to advanced coursework and career-focused programs, she said.
Rodriguez credited the district’s nine labor unions, parent groups and district employees for supporting students.
Sofia Colón, president of the Stockton Unified School District Board of Trustees, said conversations about the district have shifted in recent years to focus on student achievements and opportunities.
“We’re talking about hope,” she said. “We’re talking about possibilities. We’re talking about achievements. We’re talking about our students going to places they’ve never been before, and we’re hearing from them directly because we made a commitment to keep our focus on our students.”
U.S. Rep. Josh Harder, D-Tracy, attended the event and praised the district’s literacy improvements and expanded arts programming, including Franklin High School students’ performance at Carnegie Hall in New York City.
“There are great things happening at Stockton Unified, and not enough folks know about it,” he said, urging attendees to share the district’s progress with the community.
District invests $19 million in school safety
The superintendent said school safety has been a priority since she joined the district, which serves 31,551 students at 55 schools and employs 5,097 staff members.
With the school board’s support, the district has invested $19 million in safety improvements since Rodriguez arrived in 2023, she said.
The district implemented multiple security measures, including controlled campus entrances that require visitors to buzz in and check-in systems that require identification, Rodriguez said.
She said the district recorded one instance during the past school year in which someone attempted to access a campus without authorization, compared with multiple incidents the year before.
Superintendent discusses student needs, future readiness
Rodriguez said the district serves students with a range of needs, including English learners, students living in poverty, students receiving special education services, foster youth and students experiencing homelessness.
According to data provided by the district, 22% of students are English learners, 81% live in poverty and 13% receive special education services. The district also reported that 1% of students were in foster care and 2% were experiencing homelessness.
She cautioned that the actual number of students experiencing homelessness was likely higher than the district’s count.
The district has a $417 million budget, with approximately 86% allocated to personnel, she said.
During the district’s equity audit, leaders discussed the qualities and skills students should have when they graduate, she said.
“What we said was, ‘It can no longer just be about what we used to think of,’” Rodriguez said.
She cited projections that 170 million new jobs could be created over the next decade, underscoring the need to prepare students for careers that may not yet exist.
“We believe that we still need to do strong academic and intellectual mastery,” Rodriguez said. “We need to make sure that they have global and cultural competence so that they are able to compete with anyone throughout the nation.”
She also emphasized the need for students to have social, emotional and human-centered skills.
“AI will continue to change things, but our humanness can never be taken away,” Rodriguez said. “Our importance of who we are as people, as humans, can never be taken away, and I believe actually will become more and more important.”
Literacy and graduation rates improve as programs expand
Rodriguez said Stockton Unified has spent the past 18 months advancing its Equity Promise, which commits to providing every student with “equitable, genuine access to a world-class education that prepares them for college, career and life, regardless of their background.”
The district’s equity work includes seven pillars and a three-year plan intended to be incorporated into its Local Control and Accountability Plan to address “any and all discrepancies.”
Stockton Unified has also expanded its ethnic studies offerings, including courses in African American, Mexican American and Filipino studies, allowing students to explore their interests and cultural backgrounds.
Stockton Unified expanded its ethnic studies offerings from six courses in the 2023-24 school year to eight in 2024-25 and 10 in 2025-26, according to district data.
Rodriguez also highlighted the district’s early literacy efforts in kindergarten through second grade.
The percentage of students meeting the district’s reading benchmark increased from 16.6% in the 2023-24 school year to 35.8% in 2024-25 and 40.7% in 2025-26, an increase of 24.1 percentage points, according to district data.
For the first time, 51% of students entering third grade were reading at grade level, the superintendent said.
Stockton Unified’s graduation rate rose from 82.7% in 2021-22 to 92.4% in 2025-26, according to district data. The rate dipped to 81.9% in 2022-23 before increasing each subsequent year.
The percentage of students completing the A-G course requirements for admission to California’s public universities increased from 23% to 37% over two years, Rodriguez said.
“It’s one thing to have a diploma, which is important, but we also want — even if they choose not to — we want them to be prepared to go into college,” she said.
District expands career education, advanced coursework
Stockton Unified has expanded career-focused education programs that allow students to explore potential professions through hands-on learning, Rodriguez said.
More than 5,000 students participate in hands-on learning each day, she said.
The number of students completing career-focused programs increased from nearly 1,000 to about 1,400. Students are considered program completers after taking at least two courses in a career pathway.
Stockton Unified also expanded access to advanced coursework, including Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and dual-enrollment classes that allow students to earn college credit.
Enrollment in Advanced Placement courses increased from 876 students in 2023 to 961 in 2024, 1,150 in 2025 and 1,391 in 2026, according to district data.
“We don’t want to have dual enrollment or AP or IB be about just an elite group of students,” Rodriguez said. “We know that all of our students are highly capable and, with support, can in fact do it.”
Superintendent builds community, recognizes staff
Since stepping into the superintendent role, Rodriguez said, she has prioritized building traditions and connections, including the annual State of the District address.
“In family, we have tradition,” she said. “We have things that we look forward to.”
Rodriguez pointed to districtwide events aimed at building connections among students, families and employees, including the third annual movie night, which drew 2,000 families to Banner Island Ballpark, and the fourth annual staff kickoff, which brought thousands of employees to Adventist Health Arena.
She also said the district needs to do more to recognize staff members for their behind-the-scenes contributions. To that end, Rodriguez launched a new initiative this school year called “Heroes of SUSD: In Their Footsteps.”
As part of the initiative, Rodriguez spends a couple of hours with a staff member and interviews people they interact with daily, including students and colleagues. The district then shares the staff member’s story on its social media channels.
The district has also launched a “News Minute” series highlighting activities and achievements at individual school sites.
In her closing remarks, Rodriguez emphasized the school year’s theme, “Great Things Yet To Come,” and encouraged attendees to identify a pivotal change the district could make to better prepare students to contribute to a modern, multiskilled workforce.
She said responses would help guide the district’s continuing improvement efforts.