Overcrowding puts reform efforts to the test at Madera High School

To cope with a huge student population, Madera High School divided its more than 4,000 students into six career schools a decade ago.

Some Madera Unified Teachers Association members say that "schools within a school" have been extremely beneficial for students, helping them to develop a sense of belonging and giving them a career focus not found in traditionally structured, "supersize" high schools. Other MUTA members say the reform effort has created a few new problems and doesn't go quite far enough toward improving student achievement.

"We decided to divide the schools up in 1995 because a huge number of kids weren't making it to graduation," recalls Nancy Blankinship, the work experience coordinator for the high school, located outside of Fresno. "They would start as freshmen and not make it. We studied data on the characteristics of students who stay in high school for four years, and found that many of them had some sort of career goal or connection with the school. We wondered what we could do to promote that for our kids and decided that if they could be in a career school with like-minded kids and teachers, they might stay connected."

Since the school split into smaller "schools within a school" — each with its own administrator and counselors — the dropout rate has decreased significantly. "It used to be that of our incoming freshman class, 50 percent were not with us by graduation," says Blankinship. "Now more than 70 percent graduate."

Unfortunately, test scores are still low. The school still ranks 1 out of 10 on the state's Academic Performance Index and a 1 when compared to demographically similar schools. But achievement is rising.

Students must decide in eighth grade which of the mini-schools they would like to attend — the School of Engineering and Technology, the School of Business, the School of Health and Science, the School of Agriculture and Environmental Science, the School of Human Services or the School of Humanities. If their chosen school is not a good fit, students can switch schools in their freshman or sophomore years. Juniors and seniors are discouraged from changing.

Madera not only has "schools within a school," it has had two campuses about a mile apart for the past 10 years. A shuttle bus travels back and forth. Madera High School North, the original school, has four of the career schools. Madera High School South is actually the "beginning" of a second high school and houses the other two career schools. Thanks to a bond measure that passed after several tries, the south campus will be completed in the next year or so, and will eventually exist as a separate high school.

Tim Riche, who teaches digital imagery, journalism and Regional Occupational Program courses in television production and computer animation in the School of Humanities, approves of the way the school has been broken up. "I'm a fan of this, I can't complain," says Riche. "With a school our size, you have to break the students down into groups some way. And the easiest way to do that is by common interests. That way, they can be supported by teachers and other students in following their career paths."

"The kids get a good taste of what's possible in their area of interest and become more directed," says Furman Jones, a math teacher in the School of Humanities. But, at the same time, he believes that more could be done to improve student achievement. He would like to see more intervention programs. "When kids are really having problems and their grade is lower than a C, intervention should be required, so they can pull up their grades and graduate."

Because many of the classes are full, students often must take classes in schools outside of their own. For some students, this dilutes some of the benefits of being assigned a small school.

"Everybody's everywhere a lot of the time," says Rosa Valenzuela, a senior who takes classes at various locations besides the school to which she is assigned.

"One of the problems is that you still have a large number of students in a small space with a small number of teachers," says Jones. The scheduling thing is a nightmare. I am a math teacher in humanities, but I teach math to all kids, no matter what the school."

Students in the School of Engineering and Technology's Electronics and Computer Repair program feel close to their teachers and fellow students.

"My freshman year I messed up and was always in trouble," says Dillon Brown, a senior. "But after I got into this program I was too busy to goof off."

Brown, who thinks smaller schools give students more of a chance to graduate and be successful in life, plans to go to a technical school and become a certified electronic engineer.

"We used to call them nerds, but now we call them geniuses," muses Lino Gonzalez, who teaches the electronics and computer repair course. "In the old days a class like this was where they'd dump a student with a disciplinary problem. Now we have kids who are in higher level math, physics and science classes who elect to be here to work toward a career."

Some of his graduates go on to college and some go to trade schools or the military, but most do quite well, says Gonzalez. "Some of them become the leaders in their classrooms and help other kids learn. As far as I'm concerned, having a School of Engineering and Technology has worked out nicely."

The Kampus Kettle, a student-operated restaurant within the School of Human Services, has given many students hands-on experience in the food industry. Anjeanette Rivera, a senior in the program, plans on going to culinary arts school to become a chef. "This is what I really want to do."

"While some of my students are just trying to make up credits, many of them are interested in food service," says food services teacher Evelyn Frechou.

While some of her students do well academically, others are just struggling to graduate, says Frechou. "These kids are not going to take the A-G requirements. Most of the students I have will probably not attend a four-year college. They may not be able to take trigonometry, but they certainly can learn how to run a restaurant."

Schools within a school do have some shortcomings.

It can be difficult for teachers in the same discipline to collaborate on curriculum when they're in different schools, says one Madera teacher, who wishes to remain anonymous. "With the state and federal government pushing high schools toward a traditional, academic curriculum, there is a greater need for coordination and improvement in the quality of English, math and other core areas. The career schools have effectively divided — and overcome — these departments. Meeting times and informal times are diminished. The result is less ability to coordinate and to act together."

With so many schools within a school, traditional core subjects like science and math don't always get their fair share of the resources available, say some teachers.

Science classes at times seem like orphans because they are held in a converted shop building that lacks sinks and other necessities for lab activities, says Larry Martin, a teacher in the School of Engineering and Technology.

While there are mixed viewpoints on how well the structure works at Madera High, most believe things will improve once the south campus becomes a separate school. At that point, each site will accommodate five career schools.

"We are a terribly overcrowded school now," says Martin. "And it's difficult to structure anything when a school is this overcrowded."