STATE SCHOOLS CHIEF JACK O'CONNELL IMPOSES STRICT SANCTIONS ON SIX SCHOOLS THAT FAILED TO IMPROVE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT

[George Sheridan <learn@jps.net>]

News Release from the California Department of Education. You can read 
details about the six schools on the CDE website.
http://www.cde.ca.gov/nr/ne/yr06/yr06rel24.asp

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SACRAMENTO ? State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O?Connell 
announced today that for the first time six schools that failed to sustain 
growth in student achievement will face significant sanctions under 
California?s Immediate Intervention/Underperforming Schools Program 
(II/USP). The schools were among the first to volunteer for II/USP, which 
offered struggling schools additional funding and assistance, but requires 
sanctions for schools that did not improve student achievement for at least 
two years in a row.

O?Connell announced that trustees will be appointed to work with three of 
the schools:  Alicante Avenue Elementary in Lamont, Kern County; Antelope 
Valley High School in Lancaster, Los Angeles County; and Compton Junior 
High School in Bakersfield, Kern County.

The remaining three schools: Eastin-Arcola Elementary School in Madera, 
Madera County; Wilsona Elementary School in Palmdale, Los Angeles County; 
and, Lexington Elementary School in Cajon Valley, San Diego County, will 
each be assigned a new State Assistance and Intervention Team (SAIT) to 
focus on areas of weakness identified by reviews of the schools, attached 
below.

"The lack of consistent academic improvement in these schools is 
unacceptable," O?Connell said. "We have provided significant additional 
funding and technical assistance to help these struggling schools. I am 
very disappointed that they are not making consistent gains in student 
achievement. I am required by law to hold these schools accountable. We owe 
it to the students attending these schools to make major changes that will 
help improve their academic performance."

The Public Schools Accountability Act of 1999 established II/USP to improve 
the academic achievement in California's low-performing schools. Up to 430 
schools in Academic Performance Index (API) deciles 1-5 that failed to meet 
API growth targets in the preceding year could volunteer to participate in 
the program. Participating schools received $50,000 planning grants during 
their first year to develop a school action plan aimed at removing barriers 
that affected student achievement. Upon approval of their plans by the 
State Board of Education, each school received a grant of $200 per pupil 
for two consecutive years to implement the activities prescribed in the plans.

Schools that met their API growth targets during their implementation years 
exited II/USP. Schools that failed to make any progress during the two 
years were subject to state sanctions in their third year. II/USP schools 
that made some progress but fell short of achieving all their targets 
received a third year of funding. At the end of the third year, those 
schools either (1) exited the program if all targets were reached; (2) 
continued under annual monitoring if some progress short of the target were 
achieved; or (3) became subject to state sanctions if no progress were 
made. No additional funds were provided to schools after the third year of 
participation in II/USP.

The California Department of Education (CDE) began monitoring II/USP 
schools that did not make student progress after the first two or three 
years in the program. Those schools were assigned a SAIT team to provide 
intensive intervention and recommend corrective actions at the school 
focused on improving the English-language arts and mathematics programs.

If schools in II/USP did not show sustained student improvement after three 
years of being state monitored, California law requires the State 
Superintendent of Public Instruction to impose at least one of a range of 
additional sanctions. The options include appointing a trustee or a new 
SAIT team to focus the school on improvement, turning the school into a 
charter school, or closing the school.

Three cohorts of 430 schools each have been funded beginning with II/USP 
Cohort 1 in 1999. To date, 990 schools have successfully met the 
accountability requirements and exited the II/USP program, 78 schools 
remain under watch, and 222 schools have been state monitored. Of these 
state monitored schools, 42 have made consistent academic growth and are no 
longer being monitored

The six schools that are now facing sanctions were part of the first group 
or Cohort 1 of II/USP. O?Connell announced that his office will be 
immediately initiating conversations with each of the districts involved, 
their local governing boards, and selected county offices of education to 
identify the appropriate trustee or SAIT team for each school facing 
sanctions. County offices of education have experience assisting struggling 
schools by offering a variety of local professional development programs 
and other services.

"The Los Angeles County Office of Education is committed to working with 
the State Superintendent and the affected school districts to ensure that 
we make needed changes at these schools to improve the lives of children," 
said Darline Robles, Superintendent of the Los Angeles County Office of 
Education.

State review teams made up of representatives from the CDE, the Office of 
the Secretary of Education, and local education experts conducted an 
intensive review of the schools, including site visits to each of the six 
schools facing sanctions. Attached is a summary of the review findings and 
the sanctions applied to each school.

For more information on II/USP, please visit II/USP - High 
Priority/Interventions.

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George Sheridan