Clovis Unified School District used its annual State of the District breakfast Thursday morning to tout increased enrollment, high graduation rates, and expanding programs.

The setting spoke volumes about the district’s trajectory: the $600 million Terry P. Bradley Education Center that has received extensive media attention throughout California.

The state’s 12th-largest public school district with nearly 44,000 students is one of the few with a growing student population and the community support to fund first-class facilities.

“We prepare and plan for growth that is happening all around us,” said CUSD Chief Communications Officer Kelly Avants. “We had more than 5,000 students on the campus of the Reagan Educational Center… And so, this campus gives us an opportunity to alleviate that overcrowding that was happening there and prepare for the growth that’s continuing to happen as you drive around in this area of the cities of Fresno and Clovis.”

The Bradley Education Center, home to Phillip V. Sanchez Intermediate School and soon-to-be Clovis South High School, is currently surrounded by empty plots of land.

It is located amidst the Southeast Development Area, where the city of Fresno plans to expand housing. But these plans have hit significant roadblocks — including pushback from residents and indecision about how to fund the necessary infrastructure.

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This massive addition to the district has been more than 15 years in the making, according to Avants. The district finally broke ground on the Bradley Education Center in October 2023.

This school year, the first phase of the center, Sanchez Intermediate School, opened — ushering in about 1,000 seventh-to-ninth-grade students.

Clovis Unified took this opportunity to show an audience of more than 600 people their latest jewel.

“It is a beautiful sight to see this incredible brand-new facility full,” said CUSD Superintendent Corrine Folmer. “It shows that you care deeply about our schools, and just as importantly, about the strength and future of our community.”

The event was hosted by the Foundation for Clovis Schools, which provided more than $350,000 for students, teachers, and classrooms this past school year.

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Bradley Center Brings Special Additions to District

Clovis Unified installs special facilities, designed to be used by the entire district, at each high school or educational center. For the Bradley Education Center, this means a massive events center and a new football stadium to share.

The events center will host various sports tournaments, gymnastics competitions, robotics tournaments, and multi-cultural events. Clovis Unified hopes this will keep those big events local, according to Avants.

Already, the district hosts the CIF State Track and Field Championships.

The new high school, Clovis South, will be ready for students next school year. And the highly anticipated events center will be ready by 2028.

Along with the new school comes expanding programs. Clovis Unified has Career Technical Education programs in every high school, offering hands-on learning in specific fields.

The district is looking into developing an aeronautics program at the new school site, as well as expanding its education and child development pathways.

Student Test Scores Inch Higher, Below Pre-Pandemic Levels

Clovis Unified also unveiled its 2024-25 Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium scores, showing minimal gains.

Almost 68% of students tested met or exceeded standards in English Language Arts and 54% met or exceeded math standards — outperforming other local school districts.

Compared to last year, math scores saw a 1.5% increase and ELA scores failed to improve a full 1%.

Evidence of the hard work that is ahead for students and teachers: The district’s pre-pandemic scores were about 73% in ELA and 59% in math.

But Folmer, the superintendent, asserts that more than half of schools are back on track, reaching or surpassing pre-pandemic achievement.

Some elementary schools, including Mickey Cox and Mountain View, grew by more than 12%, she said.

Now, the district plans to use these scores to look at students individually and assess what standards they are missing.

“We recognize that after the pandemic, we have students who potentially missed key learning in early grades,” Avants said. “What our teachers and instructional team has been doing is breaking down every single grade level and reconstructing the standards… revisiting those (standards) and homing in to bring kids along.”

This targeted approach has produced results.

Folmer shared a story about a student, Royce, who arrived at Clovis Unified in fourth-grade.

Royce, part of a military family, had moved around a lot and tested in the bottom tier, level one of four.

“But then, something amazing happened: Royce met his educational team,” Folmer said. “Last year, in his sixth-grade year, he jumped all the way to a four. That’s impressive. To put in perspective, that’s a 133-point gain in one year.”

This intervention helps students get back on track, leading to about 96% of students graduating and students earning $12 million in scholarships.