Test scores are up in the Santa Barbara Unified School District, but Superintendent Hilda Maldonado said scores are not the only things that matter.

“Now, we have to talk about academics, but they have to be built up with character,” Maldonado said. “We cannot only focus on academics when educating people.

“Are they graduating from our district with a humanistic perspective? Are they graduating as more caring and compassionate people, or are they graduating with only academic knowledge that maybe doesn’t lead to the best decisions for the whole of humanity?”

Maldonado made the comments at Thursday’s State of Our Schools annual event put on by the Santa Barbara Education Foundation. She highlighted some recent gains, spotlighted district demographics and talked about the future.

The event took place at the Carrillo Recreation Center and included a panel of district administrators talking about successes.

The theme of the district is that progress is happening and that steady, early intervention work is paying off.

Maldonado touted improved test scores. The district now has the highest transitional kindergarten through 12th grade test scores in Santa Barbara County, and is performing above the state average, she said.

About 51.7 students in English language arts are meeting or exceeding standards. Math scores have grown, with 41.2% of students meeting or exceeding standards. La Cumbre Junior High School recently experienced a 13% jump in in-grade math scores.

Maldonado said the district is taking a multi-tiered approach — testing and intervening sooner and with more frequency to flag students who are falling behind.

“The failure to learn is an intervention failure, not a student failure,” Maldonado said.

The district launched a program that tests students between kindergarten and second grade for reading and math comprehension.

Maldonado is in her sixth year as superintendent. She joined at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. For much of her time, she faced consistent waves of criticism from teachers and administrators, and experienced an exodus of cabinet members.

Teachers nearly went on strike after a summer of marches and protests, and parents and students spoke out last year at school board meetings over proposed cuts to music, arts and theater. One meeting lasted more than eight hours and stretched past 2 a.m.

However, Maldonado appeared to turn the corner in her comments on Thursday. At one point, she even quoted an African proverb: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

“We are building a stronger, more resilient system,” she said. “We are committed to making the most of every single remaining 140 days (left in the school year) to our 11,700 students.”

Maldonado also noted that work will start soon on the National Guard Armory project on East Canon Perdido Street. The district owns the site and plans to spend about $25 million to develop it for career tech programs, such as machinery, carpentry, plumbing and possibly employee housing.

“You’ll be hearing more about this in the days and weeks to come,” she said.