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| Valley High School student Jimmy Armstrong is amused by teacher Dennis Boggs |
For the past six years, Valley High School has been on a roll. Test scores have been steadily rising; the graduation rate has increased; and more of the school’s graduates are being accepted into four-year colleges.
Morale has been high at the ethnically diverse Title I high school in Sacramento. And until recently, most Valley High School staff, students and parents thought that nothing could stand in the school’s path of continued progress.
But that was before the state budget deficit forced the district to make massive cutbacks for next year. Now, there is fear that continued progress may be threatened at Valley High School — as well as other campuses throughout the state that have shown continued improvement.
Indeed, schools throughout California are making progress. According to a new study by Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE) titled “Meeting the Challenge: Performance Trends in California Schools,” there are significant signs of progress in California’s schools, in spite of the tremendous challenges they face.
“All students are doing better, or at least holding steady, during a time when the system is serving a larger and more diverse population of children,” notes the study, which observes that progress has occurred as demands on public schools have grown — without commensurate growth in resources — and that the achievements have happened in spite of many state policies, not because of them.
That is certainly true at Valley High School, say Elk Grove Education Association members who work at the site.
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| Valley High School teacher Dennis Boggs walks his students through a math assignment |
Like many schools in the state, Valley High School has come a long way in a short amount of time with a challenging population. During the past six years, Principal Chris Evans and teachers have worked hard to develop what they call a “college-going” atmosphere on the campus. And they have, for the most part, succeeded.
Inside classrooms, students are on task and focused. The graduation rate has increased so much that the California Dropout Research Project identified Valley High School as one of six schools in the state as “beating the odds.”
In 2003, the school’s Academic Performance Index (API) score was 616; last year its score was 693. Two years ago, only 19 percent of students completed A-G coursework required for college acceptance. That number jumped to 41 percent, and is expected to reach 50 percent at the end of this school year.
Progress for English learners
English learners (ELs) have fared well at the school, say teachers, because they are specially hand-picked for classes designed just for their level. Classes in core subjects — social science, science and health — are offered at three different levels. All of the 15 teachers who teach EL classes are in a “partnership” where they are offered release time for professional development to help them teach English learners.
“These scores aren’t a miracle, it took a lot of changing on our part,” says Linda Gonzalez, who teaches history, government and geography for English learners. “A lot of it was sheer effort and changing of the way we teach. We developed common assessments, common programs and deciphered areas of need for each individual student. It’s almost like we have an Individual Education Plan for every student.”
Gonzalez fears that it will be harder to offer this type of attention to all students next year. She believes that with fewer teachers and less money, different levels of EL students may end up being combined — and class sizes increased — to save money. And with curriculum coaches being returned to the classroom, professional development may become a thing of the past.
“Everything we have now is threatened,” says Gonzalez. “At this point, 237 teachers in our district have been given pink slips.”
Students in the academic middle
Math intervention classes with reduced class size of 20 to 1 have helped get students up to speed. “Our scores have risen six years in a row because of this,” says Tom Dickinson, head of the math department. “But the 20 to 1 ratio is gone and we’re going back to 35 to 1, with everyone mixed together. It’s ridiculous. They told us to improve our California Standards Test (CST) scores, and we did that. Now they are taking our finances away that allowed us to do that. It’s frustrating.”
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| Chelsea Bowler assists Yajayra Gonzalez in an intervention class |
The school had planned for expansion of the AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) program, which is designed to help students in the academic middle achieve college readiness. By increasing from nine to 12 classes, an additional 100 or more students could be accommodated, says AVID teacher Sarah Swan.
“That’s still the plan, but we don’t know if money will be available to make that happen,” says Swan. “At a school like this you have a dire need for such programs to close the achievement gap.”
Even though according to state law intervention classes to help students pass the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) are only mandatory for seniors, classes have been made available to many juniors at the school. The fall classes had such a high pass rate — 72 percent — that few students needed to repeat the classes. But the high pass rate and the ability to include so many students could easily change with less funding, says Chelsea Bowler, who teaches the intervention classes in a manner she describes as “80 percent confidence building and 20 percent skills.”
Also at risk are the numerous advanced placement (AP) offerings. The school has an “open enrollment” policy whereby students don’t need to pass a test to enroll in an AP course. The PSAT (Preliminary SAT) is administered to all 10th-graders, and minority students who score well are encouraged to take AP courses as juniors and seniors.
“We have a higher percentage of students in these classes than other schools, even though other schools have a higher percentage of affluent students,” says AVID and U.S. history teacher Chris Hardwicke. “That’s because we push them. And we also have older kids encouraging the younger kids to take them.”
Counselors part of equation for success
Valley High School’s award-winning counseling department deserves much of the credit for the school’s making such huge strides. This year, 89 seniors were admitted on the spot to nearby Sacramento State University under the “Sac State 4 All” program. Thanks to a partnership with the college’s admissions officers, the school increased the number of CSU applicants by 56 percent from 2005 to 2007. The resulting number of “admits” increased by 58 percent in the same period. Valley High School pays the application fee for any students who do not qualify for the fee waiver, and has vowed to continue doing so.
Anton Kiriyak, a senior admitted to Sacramento State University under the program, is thankful that the counseling department got him on the right track. “They are like an army, but in a good way,” he says. “I’m glad they were here to help me.”
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| AVID and U.S. history teacher Chris Hardwicke directs (left to right) Abraham Santos and Crystal Lee. |
Last year, the counseling department was able to grow by a half-time position. Next year the counseling department will be cut by one full-time position.
“Increasing by .5 may not sound like much, but it has allowed us to do a lot in the way of expanding services,” says counselor Ron Riebeek. “Now we are able to consult with all seniors and their parents if they are credit deficient or didn’t pass the CAHSEE. And we meet with 10th-grade students who are far below basic — and with their parents — to discuss their test scores and develop a four-year plan. These conferences have been incredibly helpful.”
“You might say,” says Riebeek with a laugh, “that the extra half position in the counseling department allowed us to nag these students to death. Sometimes all it takes is time and money.”
But both of those items may be in short supply next year for the department, which won the prestigious Support Personnel Accountability Report Card (SPARC) Best in the West Counseling Award and the H.B. McDaniel Foundation group and individual awards for school counseling this year.
Also in short supply are, well, supplies. And teachers have already noticed a big difference in getting less in the way of resources.
Math teachers rave about the results they see when students work out problems on mini white boards. Students wave the boards in the air, and teachers can instantly see whether the majority of students “get it” or not. But now, there is no money to buy pens for the boards.
“We’ve been told to re-soak our pens when they dry out,” says math teacher Dennis Boggs. He adds that teachers have also been told to cut one 8½ by 11 piece of paper into quarters to hand out student assignments; shake copier cartridges if they appear to be out of ink; and remove the inside of marker pens with pliers and turn them around if they appear to be out of ink.
Boggs wonders what kind of message it sends to students when schools can’t afford pens, paper and ink. And it is especially challenging, he says, for a school in a low-income neighborhood, where parents can’t always afford to chip in for supplies.
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| Jessica Flores-Avelar and Yajayra Gonzalez (left to right) hold up small white boards for immediate feedback in Tom Dickinson’s class. |
“Unfortunately, these types of cuts always hurt the students of greatest need,” says Boggs.
Other staff members wonder whether the government is just providing lip service when it talks about closing the achievement gap, since school funding does not appear to be a top priority.
“I feel like we’re making really good strides, not just with our test scores but in getting kids to college and closing the achievement gap,” says Hardwicke. “But now with these cutbacks, it’s like they are asking us to do it with one hand tied behind our backs and another holding our legs while jumping up and down. It’s not fair.”
Moises Escoto, an 11th-grader, recently talked to legislators about the importance of school funding at the nearby state Capitol. He hopes they got the message.
“They tell you they want you to go to college, but they are cutting teachers, counselors and supplies. This is not the way to help students in California.”
