We are pleased to share a recent success of one of our star schools, Sparks Middle School in Industry, CA was identified as “Beating the Odds” by a new report from WestEd.

A growing body of research suggests that school climate may be an important variable in explaining why some schools are more successful than others. This report, written by WestEd’s Adam Voight, Gregory Austin, and Thomas Hanson, contributes to this research by exploring the climate of a handful of secondary schools with extraordinary success compared to that of other schools, including those that consistently underperform.

School success is often defined in absolute terms, such as average standardized test scores. But such criteria are known to be strongly correlated with the socioeconomic characteristics of a school’s student body. And the fact that a largely affluent student body is linked to school success offers little useful direction for those trying to improve achievement in struggling schools with low-income student populations.

To address this limitation, the present study’s design and methodology take student characteristics into account. Specifically, a successful school is defined as one whose test scores are better than would be predicted based on its student characteristics. Using this definition, A Climate for Academic Success investigates how two factors—school climate and school personnel resources—differed among three groups of California secondary schools.

In the report, 40 schools are identified as “Beating the Odds“, derived by using data from over 1,700 California public middle and high schools, these 40 schools were identified that consistently performed better than predicted on standardized tests of math and English language arts achievement. These schools were labeled “beating-the-odds” (BTO) schools.

Of the 40 schools, Sparks Middle School of Hacienda la Puente Unified was the only California GEAR UP school on the list. California GEAR UP schools utilize professional development resources, partner services, and discretionary funds to create a college-going culture over a six year period. Sparks has been a California GEAR UP school since 2011 and has implemented a full compliment of GEAR UP resources to address school climate and culture to ensure ALL students have access to high quality academics and preparation. California GEAR UP schools believe it is never to early to prepare students for their future and it takes a school community of committed adults to achieve great performance.

A previous study using this definition of success found that personnel resources—such as the education, experience, and roles of staff—did not help distinguish successful from unsuccessful schools. The current study looks at the relationship between school climate and success, as measured by the California Healthy Kids Survey. The measure includes such dimensions of the school environment as safety, academic supports, social relationships, and school connectedness. A positive school climate has been associated with higher academic achievement and healthy behavioral outcomes for students.

In addition to the Report Summary, a Full Report is also available on the WestEd Website.

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Funded for its third six-year cycle on October 1, 2011, the program goal of California GEAR UP is to: Develop and sustain the organizational capacity of middle schools to prepare ALL students for high school and higher education through a statewide network of support for adults — counselors, faculty, school leaders and families — who influence middle school students. All program services are geared towards sustainability, such that school change can be successful beyond the life of the grant cycle.

CDE Hosts Showcase to Help Transition Educators to New Standards That Will Give Students a World-Class Education

The California Department of Education (CDE) will hold a one-day showcase Wednesday April 3, 2013 at its headquarters in Sacramento to help transition educators to the new standards.

The new Common Core State Standards in mathematics, English-language arts and literacy in history/social science, science, and technical subjects (California CCSS) will serve as a foundation to remodel the state’s education system. The new Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) will reflect the major advances in science over the past 15 years.

The showcase, presented by the CDE’s Improving Teacher Quality State Agency for Higher Education Program, is free and open to the public. It will feature a number of successful exemplary projects that received federal Title II, Part A grants designed to strengthen educators’ content knowledge and abilities as it relates to California CCSS and the NGSS. Attendees will hear from the showcase presenters about their projects, and then a question-and-answer period will follow each session.

Seating is limited and those who confirmed their attendance in advance will be seated first. The showcase will be recorded for a future podcast. The detailed showcase agenda and descriptions of the Title II, Part A grant recipients’ programs are attached.

California’s Common Core State Standards provide a practical way to prepare students for the challenges of a constantly changing world by helping them learn step-by-step, real-world problem solving skills they need for college and careers. The new standards keep the best of what the state has, but replaces outdated ways of learning with a clear focus on the key knowledge and skills that students need, and also provides teachers the time to teach them well.

The Next Generation Science Standards will be rich in content and practice, are arranged across disciplines and grades, and clearly articulate the educational content and practices students will need to learn from kindergarten through grade twelve.

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The California Department of Education (CDE) is a state agency led by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson. For more information, please visit http://www.cde.ca.gov or by mobile device at http://m.cde.ca.gov/. You may also follow Superintendent Torlakson on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/TorlaksonSSPI and Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/CAEducation.

California Department of Education, Communications Division

1430 N Street, Suite 5602, Sacramento, CA 95814

Main: 916-319-0818; Fax: 916-319-0100

E-Mail: communications@cde.ca.gov; URL: www.cde.ca.gov/nr/

From 2003-10, the number of eighth graders who took Algebra I nearly doubled in California, and the percentage that rated proficient on the state Algebra test actually increased from 39 to 46 percent overall. Source: 2011 EdSource study “Improving Middle Grades Mathematics Performance.” (Click to enlarge)

The State Board of Education voted unanimously Wednesday to remove state incentives encouraging schools to offer Algebra I in 8th grade.

The move was both a vote of confidence in the new Common Core standards for 8th grade, which districts are now beginning to implement, and a retreat from a decade-old policy of pushing universal algebra in 8th grade. Proponents of the state’s current policy are predicting that enrollment in Algebra by 8th grade, which has doubled over the past decade to nearly two-thirds of students, will plummet in coming years.

Under the current policy, students who take General Math in 8th grade, the less rigorous alternative to Algebra, are penalized on the results of their state standardized math test. If they test at the advanced level in General Math, their scores are knocked down one level to proficient, while those who test proficient are rated with only having basic knowledge. This, in turn, affects the school’s Academic Performance Index or API score, the  state’s chief and most recognizable measure of accountability. The penalties were a big reason districts pushed students to take Algebra.

The State Board’s new goal is to create guidelines that lay out two paths for math in 8th grade, one leading to a course based on Common Core 8th grade standards, which is basically pre-Algebra, and an accelerated route leading to a new, as yet, undesigned Common Core Algebra I course. Local districts will decide which students are ready for Algebra; the State Board’s position is to be neutral. Board members have expressed confidence that students who take Common Core 8th grade math will be well-prepared to take Algebra I or a new alternative, an Integrated Common Core high school course, as freshmen in high school. Then they can proceed to higher math, including Algebra II and pre-Calculus, qualifying them for admission to the California State University or University of California by their senior year.

“The decision by a former state board to create penalties and incentives for students to take algebra was probably wrong-headed. The decision about where students are placed for purposes of mathematics should be made at the local level not state level,” said Sue Burr, the former executive director of the State Board and now its newest board member.

Board members noted that Common Core 8th grade math is more rigorous than the current General Math, which does not include pre-Algebra. Removing the penalties on the API will enable districts to ease the transition to Common Core; districts won’t feel pressure to skip from seventh grade Common Core to Algebra.

However, Doug McRae, a retired test publisher from Monterey who has written frequently on the issue in EdSource Today, said that districts will no longer feel any urgency to offer Algebra I, and, as a result, fewer students will be on a path to take Calculus in high school and major in science, engineering and math in college.

“You are lowering standards for those kids who are capable of taking a full algebra course,” McRae said during the public comment period.

Board member Trish Williams expressed the ambivalence shared by others on the issue. In her former role as executive director of EdSource, she directed a study of middle school math that documented impressive numbers of 8th graders, particularly minority students, who took Algebra in eighth grade and did well on the state Algebra test. But the study also concluded that substantial numbers of students were misassigned and were taking it twice and even three times without success. Only 40 percent of African American and Hispanic students are scoring proficient on the Algebra exam – an improvement over a decade ago, but troubling nonetheless.

The increase in minority students taking Algebra “is not insignificant. It was a big advantage for those kids,” she said. “Social justice advocates worry that if pressure is not on then schools will revert and not prepare low-income kids. I hear that and I respect it, and I honor it.”

“It is important that the Board send a signal to schools that we want them to continue to keep open opportunities for low-income kids,” she said.

The Board’s policy to encourage more students to take Algebra was done, she said, with “good intentions.” But the “collateral damage” – too many unprepared students required to take Algebra – is why she said she would vote to change the policy.

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For Immediate Release

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March 6, 2013 (Sacramento, CA) – As of Friday, March 1, 2013, sequestration went into effect.  On a national level, GEAR UP will be forced to take a 5.3 percent reduction.  On a state level, California GEAR UP is prepared to manage the implications of a mandated reduction with the least amount of impact on the schools and large communities served by the program.  For further information on the impact to the GEAR UP program nationally, please visit www.ed.gov and http:///www.edpartnerships.org.

Education Trust Awards:

The 5,370 Education Trust Award recipients should be relieved to learn that no reduction will occur in your award level. All Education Trust Awards to date have been fully funded.  Education Trust Awards provide $2,000 in resources to defray the costs of college attendance. The awards are available to students within one year of high school graduation and upon college enrollment.

The goal of California GEAR UP is to provide a network of support for schools towards implementing long-term, sustainable strategies to create a college-going culture.  We look forward to their continued growth and success as we collaborate to achieve this common purpose, regardless of the adversity presented by the current federal budget crisis.

Since 1999, California GEAR UP has impacted:

• 256 California Middle Schools
• 440,000 California Middle School Students
• 51,000 Families
• 2,100 Middle School Teachers
• 5,370 Education Trust Awards

“GEAR UP is an efficient program in local communities designed to increase the number of low-income and first-generation students prepared to enroll and succeed in college. Our economic prosperity and global competiveness is at stake when we put programs like GEAR UP at risk. We urge our leaders to consider the impact on low-income middle and high school students to enter and succeed academically when funding for effective programs, such as GEAR UP, is decreased.”   –Penny Edgert, Executive Director California Education Round Table Intersegmental Coordinating Committee.

If you have questions regarding California GEAR UP and the effects of sequestration, please contact Sean Brennan, Communications Manager: sean.brennan@ucop.edu, 415-948-9262.

Sincerely,

Penny Edgert,  Principal Investigator, California GEAR UP 

The Equity and Education Commission, which held hearings in major U.S. cities over the past three years, released its final report, “For Each and Every Child: A Strategy for Education Equity and Excellence.” The report examines disparities in educational opportunities that give rise to achievement gaps and recommends ways to address those inequalities.

The Commission is the brainchild of Congressmen Fattah (D-PA) and Mike Honda (D-CA) who through their work on the House Appropriations Committee secured funding for the Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights to establish the Commission.

“The Commission’s final report represents a significant milestone in the historic effort to close the achievement gap between rich and poor school districts – as well as among schools within a given district, that has plagued our nation’s public education system,” Fattah said.

The commision made recommendations in these areas:

Equitable school finance: States should publicly report what is needed in the way of teaching staff, programs, services, and funding to provide a meaningful education to all students. States should also ensure that sufficient money is available, develop models for using technology in classrooms, and promote high-quality programs for special-needs students. The federal government should provide incentives to states to reduce the number of schools with high concentrations of poverty and seek to expand their authority to intervene in school-equity issues.

Improved teachers, leaders, and curricula: States should better compensate teachers, and increase selectivity and effectiveness of teacher training. The federal government should create a major new grant program to help states address improvements the teacher pipeline. (California GEAR UP is a proud statewide asset to teacher training and capacity building.)

Expanding high-quality early education: States should expand early education so that, within 10 years, every low-income student has access to high-quality preschool. And the federal government should provide some funds for this.

Mitigating poverty’s effects: States, in partnership with the federal government, should adopt dropout-prevention programs and other alternative-education opportunities for at-risk students. (GEAR UP is a innovative and locally based federal program working in areas where poverty affects students the most.)

Tackling accountability and governance: States should develop mechanisms to intervene when districts and schools are in fiscal crisis.

Dropout Nation commented the report was had some missing areas in their blog today:

Meanwhile there is plenty that the commission has left out. While it touches on old-school parent involvement approaches, it fails to acknowledge the importance of Parent Trigger laws in seven states that, along with other measures, are allowing families to lead the turnaround of schools in their own neighborhoods. The commission also fails to consider the development of online and blended learning, which is increasingly allowing families and communities to take control of the teaching and curricula their kids are provided. Even the commission’s dismissal of mayoral control as not being a “panacea” (as if anything created by man ever is) ignores the myriad failings of the traditional district model, and ignores its own point that the school boards that operate it (which end up being servile to NEA and AFT locals), do a poor job of allowing taxpayers and families to play real decision-making roles in education.

The report concludes the commission’s work, which begs the question that Education Week asked on their K-12 Politics Blog: What happens now to these recommendations?

The report hangs its hat on many ideas, however, that Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives oppose—such as new programs and protected funding streams for at-risk populations. So it’s unclear just how much traction these ideas would have. What’s more, in some states, adopting more-equitable school finance would probably mean spending more money—at a time when additional cash is still scarce as states climb out of the hole from the recent recession. Equity battles have been raging in state courts for years. Indicative of the challenge of revamping school finance system, the report says, “There is disagreement about exactly how to change the system…”

Eric Hanushek, a Stanford University professor on the commission, said he was glad the report wasn’t just about money. “Twenty years ago, you could well have seen a commission saying ‘Oh, if we just put more money and invest more in our schools, we’re going to be okay,’” he said. “We have to make sure resources are effectively used, and up until now there have been various people arguing various parts of that statement in isolation.”

The next steps are unclear. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan stressed that this commission is independent from official department business. “This is not an easy labor of love,” he said. “We asked them … to tell us the truth.”

The report didn’t have recommendations on funding or next steps.

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State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Congratulates California’s 2013

“Schools to Watch™–Taking Center Stage” Model Middle Schools

SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson today announced that 12 high-performing California middle schools have been newly designated as model middle grades schools in the Schools to Watch™−Taking Center Stage (STW−TCS) program. Another nine high-performing California schools will also retain their model middle grades schools status under the same program.

“My congratulations and admiration go out to these schools for continually striving to improve student performance,” Torlakson said. “Their success is the result of effective and innovative practices that motivate their students to learn and excel.”

STW‒TCS middle grades schools are high-performing model schools that demonstrate academic excellence, developmental responsiveness to the needs and interests of young adolescents, social equity, and organizational support. STW‒TCS model schools host visitors from California and around the world who are looking for replicable practices that will help them improve their middle grades schools and close the achievement gap.

The 12 newly designated STW‒TCS model middle grades schools are:

Fresno County

1.     Fairmont Elementary K-8 (Sanger Unified School District, Sanger)

2.     Quail Lake Environmental Charter K-8 (Sanger Unified School District, Sanger)

3.     Sanger Academy Charter K-8 (Sanger Unified School District, Sanger)

The three schools are small, rural K-8 schools that have specific programs for middle grades students and have significantly closed the achievement gap. They act as one professional learning community frequently collaborating on better instructional strategies. (In 2011, Sanger Unified’s Washington Academic Middle School was designated a STW−TCS.)

Los Angeles County

4.    Frank J. Zamboni Middle School (Paramount Unified School District, Paramount) is an urban school whose Academic Performance Index (API) scores (on a scale ranging from 200 to 1000, with 800 established as the statewide target) in nearly every student group have risen from the 600’s in 2006-07 to the 800’s in 2011-12. Students who are English learners scored at 789, but made a significant 27-point growth last year. The staff has focused on poverty issues facing their students as part of their concern for the whole child.

Orange County

5.    Pioneer Middle School (Tustin Unified School District, Tustin) has seen significant and sustained improvement over the past five years in student achievement, meeting all significant subgroup targets on state standardized tests. The school developed a successful program, Pyramid on Interventions, to assist all students in becoming proficient, as well as having been recognized as a national professional learning community model.

6.    Thurston Middle School (Laguna Beach Unified School District, Laguna Beach) is a suburban school and has made all its growth targets every year on state standardized tests by supporting all students in using “Best First Practices” and “Response to Intervention” strategies.

San Bernardino County

7.    Summit Intermediate School (Etiwanda School District, Etiwanda) is a suburban school that has made significant increases on state standardized tests over the past five years. Nearly every numerically significant student group is at or above the 800 statewide target. These diverse learners have had increased learning opportunities with “X-Time,” a period where teachers provide additional support.

8.    Vanguard Preparatory K-8 (Apple Valley Unified School District, Apple Valley) is a rural school with more than 1,000 students that is consistently closing the achievement gap. With a focus on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), the school offers family STEM nights to explore these areas.

Santa Clara County

9.    Union Middle School (Union Elementary School District, San Jose) is a suburban school whose API score is a noteworthy 932 points and is ranked in the top 10 percent of state middle schools. Part of the school’s success is due to the school’s collaborative approach, “Intervention on a Page,” that provides all the necessary information for student support.

Santa Cruz County

10. San Lorenzo Valley Middle School (San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District, Felton) is a rural school with a smaller population of about 500 students. The school has gained 46 points on the API since 2007, while the socioeconomically disadvantaged student population has gained 82 points. During the third week of the year, academic counseling and intervention is started so that no child is allowed to fall behind academically.

11. Scotts Valley Middle School (Scotts Valley Unified School District, Scotts Valley) is a suburban school with a growing diverse population and whose state’s standardized test scores show a closing of the achievement gap. The support strategy is using the “Enrichment” period where many services are offered to meet individual needs.

Ventura County

12.  Sinaloa Middle School  (Simi Valley Unified School District, Simi Valley) is a suburban school that is closing the achievement gap with all of its student groups. The API scores for students with disabilities have increased 96 points on state standardized tests since 2007. The school has a plethora of strategies that the faculty has developed through collaboration to engage its students.

The redesignated model middle schools are:

1.    Canyon Middle School (Castro Valley Unified School District, Castro Valley, Alameda County); a STW‒TCS school for six years

2.    Edna Hill Middle School (Brentwood Union School District, Brentwood, Contra Costa County); a STW‒TCS school for six years

3.    Frank M. Wright Middle School (Imperial Unified School District, Imperial, Imperial County); a STW‒TCS school for six years

4.    Granger Junior High (Sweetwater Union High School District, National City, San Diego County); a STW‒TCS school for three years   and previous California GEAR UP School.

5.    John Glenn Middle School (Desert Sands Unified School District, Indio, Riverside County); a STW‒TCS school for nine years

6.    Medea Creek Middle School (Oak Park Unified School District, Oak Park, Los Angeles County); a STW‒TCS schools for nine years

7.    Mistletoe School (Enterprise Elementary School District, Redding, Shasta County); a STW‒TCS school for three years

8.    Oliver Wendell Holmes Middle School (Los Angeles Unified School District, Northridge, Los Angeles County); a STW‒TCS school for six years and previous California GEAR UP School.

9.    Reyburn Intermediate (Clovis Unified School District, Clovis, Fresno County); a STW‒TCS school for three years

In order to be named a STW‒TCS model middle school, school administrators must conduct a self-study evaluation and complete an extensive narrative application. Each site is then reviewed by a team of middle grades experts. In order to retain the designation, each school is re-evaluated every three years.

The nine redesignated schools named today were reviewed last October and are among 36 others selected in previous cycles since 2003 as STW‒TCS designees. All of the schools will be formally recognized at the California Middle Grades Alliance annual luncheon on February 28, 2013, and during the California League of Middle Schools Conference on March 1-3, 2013. Both events will be in Sacramento. At that time, the schools will have an opportunity to showcase their accomplishments and network with other middle grades educators from around the state.

For more information about the Schools to Watch™−Taking Center Stage model school program, visit the California Department of Education Web site at California Schools to Watch — Taking Center Stage . Schools to Watch™−Taking Center Stage is a partner of California GEAR UP. 

In a late night vote Tuesday, Congress averted the deep, automatic spending cuts set to affect a wide range of federal programs, including many important to higher education. The vote to avoid the tax hikes and spending cuts, known together as the “fiscal cliff,” gives lawmakers two months to cut $6 billion from the federal budget and sets up a probable spending showdown later in the year.

The bill averts tax hikes for all but the wealthiest Americans as the Bush-era tax cuts expire. It also puts off sequestration, the across-the-board spending cuts originally scheduled to take place because Congress did not reach a long-term agreement on deficit reduction in 2012. Many programs important to higher education, including federal work-study, the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant and funding for scientific research, as well as other federal education programs such as GEAR UP would have been cut 8.2 percent under sequestration.

The deal also extends the American Opportunity Tax Credit, a partially refundable $2,500 tax credit for college tuition, for five years. The credit was initially part of the 2009 stimulus bill, and Obama promised during the campaign that he would make the tax credit permanent. In an e-mail to Inside Higher Ed on Tuesday, Terry Hartle, senior vice president for government and public affairs at the American Council on Education, called the extension “particularly welcome news.”

The bill also made permanent other tax provisions with implications for higher education, including the student loan interest deduction and tax preferences for Coverdell savings accounts. On spending cuts, many questions remain unanswered. Congress will need to reach an agreement March 1 to cut $6 billion from the budget. Whether those budget cuts will affect programs important to higher education is still unclear.

The March 1 deadline will arrive at roughly the same time as another vote to increase the federal borrowing limit, and when a temporary law funding the federal government expires. Since the Republicans who hold the majority in the House of Representatives remain staunchly opposed to increasing federal spending, another showdown on Capitol Hill before those deadlines arrive is all but guaranteed.

While the Pell Grant program is protected from the sequester, previous agreements to avoid a government shutdown or a default on the federal debt have hit higher education programs hard.

“The good news is that the automatic reductions have been avoided and this is a welcome development for scientific research conducted at universities,” Hartle said. “The bad news is that the uncertainty surrounding the proposed reductions remains and, if you look hard enough, you can see another fiscal cliff in the not-too-distant future.”

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SACRAMENTO—California will avoid huge spending cuts to public schools and universities, and be able to get out of the fiscal problems without cutting other services further, after voters handed Gov. Jerry Brown‘s signature tax measure a decisive victory Tuesday. Proposition 30 had an 8 percentage point lead Wednesday morning, with 99 percent of precincts reporting.

Brown’s tax measure has been his central focus since his election two years ago and will have major implications for the state’s finances. If it had been defeated, nearly $6 billion in automatic spending cuts, falling almost entirely on public schools, would have been automatically enacted under the budget approved by lawmakers earlier this year.

Prop. 30 will raise the sales tax by one penny for every $4 spent for four years, while increasing the income tax on the state’s highest earners for seven years. It would generate about $6 billion per year in new revenue. The sales tax hike will go into effect Jan. 1, while the personal income tax increase is retroactive to the beginning of this year for families and individuals making more than $250,000.

For many, the impact of Prop. 30 not passing, and the possibility of roughly $6 billion in cuts, would have hit them directly. UC and CSU warned of tuition hikes; California Community Colleges have already cut course offerings and enrollment. K-12 officials said they could lose up to three weeks of school if the measure didn’t pass; districts across the state prepared contingency plans.

For higher education, this means college dreams can become a reality.  More students that have worked hard and prepared for college will be able to attend.  Tuition and fees will not increase yet again and courses that college students need to graduate will not be cut any further.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson issued the following statement regarding voter approval of Proposition 30:

“Passage of Proposition 30 means parents and students across the state can breathe a collective sigh of relief, knowing that our schools will have the resources to stay open for the remainder of the year. My heartfelt thanks to the Governor and the volunteer army of parents, teachers, school employees, administrators, and school board members, who stood together to stop further devastating cuts to education.The people of California have given our schools a well-earned vote of confidence. We intend to make the most of it by continuing our work to give all children the world-class education they deserve.”

For more information on Proposition 30 and other ballot initiatives check out the official website for the CA Secretary of State.

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