Woodlake is the 11th poorest city in California. The high school district has 735 students, half of whom speak English as a second language. Many of the parents of Woodlake students are fieldworkers who have little more than a second-grade education.
Despite the odds, Woodlake Union High School has succeeded in preparing half of its senior class for entry into the University of California system, which is double Tulare County's average of 25 percent. And 70 percent of all seniors go on to attend either community college or a four-year university.
Janet Robinson urges a student to try harder at Woodlake High School in Tulare County.
The small, rural campus was one of three in the entire country to be named an inspiration for other schools in overcoming the challenges of a high percentage of impoverished students and English language learners. In April, the school received the College Board Inspiration Award, along with $25,000 at a special ceremony held on campus.
"At this school, they let you shoot for your dreams," says Sarina Iniguez, president of the senior class. "Our teachers have supported us here at Woodlake. They have told me, 'Don't let anyone shut the door in your face' and 'You'll make it wherever you go.'"
Iniguez credits the faculty with encouraging her to enroll in Advanced Placement classes and participate in extracurricular events. She will attend California State University at Fresno on a scholarship.
"I'm the first in my family to go to a university," she says proudly. "My family is so happy for me that I'm excited for them."
When her teachers and counselors first began encouraging her to go to college, she worried that she would not be able to afford it. "They said, 'Don't look at money as an obstacle. There are loans out there. What's important is how you present yourself and how much you want it.'"
Albert Haro, a senior bound for UCLA, says teachers won't let students make excuses for failure. "When you don't understand something, they stop and explain it. They don't keep going. They will do whatever is needed to help you. When you arrive as a freshman, they ask you what you want to do when you grow up. They help you to achieve your dreams."
Some of the graduating class members have problems that go beyond poverty and language. One student, whose parents work in the fields, nearly dropped out after his parents were arrested for operating a drug laboratory. Another student has an invalid mother and must work after school and on weekends to help support the family. Yet another student has a mother who is dying and unable to afford health care. Despite the odds, all of these students were accepted at four-year colleges and universities.
Ashley Pena and J.J. Fisher praise the AVID senior seminar taught by Denise Akin (in background).
"Here, the teachers and counselors don't ask you if you want to go to college," says Iniguez. "They ask you where you want to go to college."
"We don't give them the option to fail," says Denise Akin, who teaches the AVID Senior Seminar Class, which prepares students for college. "We don't water down curriculum. As they develop skills, they become successful. They begin to believe in themselves. By the time they are seniors, they're awesome."
A member of the Woodlake Union High School Teachers Association (WUHSTA), Akin says, "We don't have the attitude that these kids can't learn just because our population isn't rich. That's not an excuse. We tell our students that the only way to break the cycle of poverty is through education, that education is the key to their future. That's the way it is."
Teachers attribute the success of Woodlake to a combination of factors that, when added up, take the "whole student" into account. It's a district-wide effort that begins with quality preschool for low-income children, followed by rigorous programs at the feeder schools. There is also collaboration between schools and grade levels. Woodlake High staff members, for example, always interview eighth-graders ahead of time to make sure their needs will be met as freshmen.
At the high school, school is serious business. A strict attendance policy is in place, and the school does not tolerate extended absences. The school went on the trimester system and added an extra week for Christmas vacation to accommodate the migrant worker schedule. To graduate on stage, seniors must have a 95 percent attendance rate. Students must also perform nearly 100 hours of community service in order to have something to put on a resume and perhaps gain an idea of what they would like to do with their lives.
Positive reinforcement at Woodlake involves rewarding student achievement. Three assemblies throughout the year honor students, but not just the highest achievers. "Students are rewarded for making improvement and for achieving their own personal academic goals," says Akin. "They are also rewarded for things like having a positive attitude and performing community service."
Students can relate to Rick Rodriguez, a Woodlake graduate who returned to teach algebra and geometry.
Local businesses also reward students by offering discounts to those who make good grades.
Several of the teachers, who are Woodlake High School graduates themselves, provide an inspiration to their students simply by being there. "A lot of the students relate to me, because it wasn't so long ago that I was a student here," says Rick Rodriguez, who teaches algebra and geometry. "My parents were migrants and didn't speak English. My dad had a third-grade education and my mother had none.
"I tell my students that if I can do it, they can do it. I have my high school transcripts posted on the bulletin board. Many of my students feel inspired by that."
For a small campus, Woodlake High School offers a large selection of Advanced Placement classes - nine in all. Jose Palomo, who teaches AP Spanish literature, says students are pushed to take AP classes, even though they may be hesitant at first.
"If you expect a lot out of students, they will rise to the occasion," says Palomo, who graduated from the school in 1991. "The majority of students, even those who are ESL, either end up in AP Spanish language, AP Spanish literature or AP calculus.
"You don't hear our students say, 'I can't handle it,' because the mindset of the teachers is so optimistic that students believe they can do it. And our students know that if they need help, it's there. We have tutoring at our after-school counseling center Monday through Fridays.
"Teachers are always available if kids ask for help."
Palomo recalls one particular student who was struggling in all his classes. "I was his varsity soccer coach and I started talking to him, asking him what he was going to do after high school. He said, 'I have no plans.' I started giving him advice and asking him to think about the future. He is now enrolled in three AP classes. And he's passing."
Some people may get the wrong idea about AP Spanish classes, assuming that since Hispanic students already know Spanish, classes will be easy for them. However, that's like expecting Anglo students to score well automatically on AP English or college-level exams because they speak the language. Speaking a language fluently does not mean students have the ability to read for comprehension, conjugate verbs and use proper sentence structure.
AVID classes (Advancement Via Individual Determination), which are designed to prepare students for college, are offered at every grade level. AVID students take the PSAT, SAT I and II and ACT exams when they are juniors, with the school usually footing the bill.
"A lot of these kids wouldn't take these tests if someone weren't pushing them," says Brian Costa, who teaches an AVID class for sophomores in addition to AP Spanish. "Their parents may be supportive of education, saying 'Go to school and learn,' but if they don't have an education, they don't know how to prepare their children for college."
Guest speakers from various universities and professions regularly visit AVID classes to broaden the perspective of students, who may never have been outside the Woodlake area. Students take field trips to colleges and universities, learn good study habits and test-taking strategies, practice the art of note-taking and prepare portfolios of their work.
Teachers say that without a counseling department that goes above and beyond the call of duty, fewer Woodlake students would be college-bound. The counseling department, which has just two people, does everything from advising students on classes to helping them and their parents apply to colleges and fill out financial aid forms.
"We help them apply for local scholarships and state and federal aid," says Dennis Conner, a counselor at Woodlake for 35 years. "We nag them like a mother would if they forget to send something in. We remind them, remind them and remind them. We can't force them to do things to get into college, but we do our best."
That includes pushing students to do better and work harder, says Conner. "Our motto is 'Keep all your options open.' We tell them to follow a college prep course and take the SAT even if they think they want to go into the workforce or the military. It won't hurt."
Counselors make appointments with all sophomores and their parents to talk about graduation and college requirements - and to make sure there are no obstacles that hinder learning.
"We want to see if there is an identifiable problem," says Connor. "Maybe a parent is ill and the student is under a lot of pressure. If there are problems, we can refer them to the Woodlake Family Resource Center, part of the Healthy Start program, where there are therapists, case managers and medical referrals. That way, if someone has a problem, it gets identified fast and dealt with."
"If you need help with a scholarship form or financial aid, counselors will give you an answer right then and there, or make calls to find out right in front of you," says Sarina Iniguez. "You definitely know you are their first priority."
While Woodlake High School has received national attention for graduating a large percentage of college-bound students, it is also an underperforming school, ranking a "2" on the Academic Performance Index. As part of the Immediate Intervention/Underperforming Schools Program (II/USP), the school could receive sanctions from the state - including a takeover - if it does not meet its growth target.
"It's very ironic," says Lou Welch, an AP English teacher. "Last week they told us we were an underperforming school and this week we get an award. I don't get it. To me, it says a lot about our testing system. The test doesn't measure writing skills and critical thinking skills, which we've emphasized for the last 10 years." Sometimes, she says, students whose first language isn't English may be thrown by just one word on a test question, resulting in a wrong answer.
The majority of Woodlake students who go on to college do quite well, says Welch. "If we were doing well on tests and kids werent going to college, would anyone notice?" she asks. "Would we be criticized for that? What really matters?"
"Test scores don't measure the remarkable determination of these kids to excel, to continue their education and to better themselves," says Ronald Barkley, AP English literature and president of the local teachers association. "Test scores don't measure the kids ability to communicate in written and oral language and they don't predict whether or not these kids will succeed in college or in life."
"Receiving the College Board Inspiration Award was very gratifying, because our efforts toward preparing kids for life after high school have been rewarded," he adds.
"It was so nice to be recognized and get some positive publicity. We really do have a lot to be proud of here."
