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FeedMaking the Grade
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Ranking our top elementary and middle school districts can be a subjective call. But there are guideposts. Using state and federal standards, here are 45 San Diego schools that measure up.
SUPERINTENDENT CARL A. COHN knows of a place where there is “no child left behind,” where all children achieve grade-level proficiency and where there is no achievement gap.
“It’s called heaven,” says the head of the San Diego Unified School District, who expands on that premise in his Perspective piece on page 98.
To read Superintendent Cohn's Perspective article, please click here.
Cohn cringes at the expression “No child left behind,” the slogan for the standards-based education reform act signed into law by President Bush in 2002. The law aims to bring all children, including limited-English, special-education and disadvantaged students, up to the proficient level on state tests by 2014. Like many educators, Cohn considers the legislation unfair, underfunded and too focused on one-size-fits-all testing. The idealistic goals of the law, he says, would require divine intervention to succeed.
Despite those challenges, we are happy to report that 45 elementary and middle schools in 10 local districts have achieved what Cohn would consider heaven on Earth by surpassing both state and federal benchmarks.
It’s a tricky accomplishment, because although federal and state systems look at the same student test scores, they do so in different ways. A school can exceed state standards, but if low-performing students only move up, say, one grade instead of two, the school can be penalized, often through reduced funding. Some of the districts in San Diego County have schools with Academic Performance Index (API) scores that have soared, yet they have failed to meet federal standards.
Our highest six performers include three elementary schools in the Del Mar Union School District: Ashley Falls, Sage Canyon and Torrey Hills. Poway Unified School District’s Creekside Elementary, and Carmel Creek and Solana Pacific in the Solana Beach School District, complete our list.
Besides exceeding a base API score of 950 and meeting federal academic benchmarks (see the sidebar), these schools have a number of strategies in common. There is an emphasis on utilizing technology; teachers and students use computers to learn, communicate and play. Parents and school staff make a continuing effort to commicate regularly. A lack of state and federal funding is addressed by parent organizations that raise money to support the curriculum.
If one had to name a single outstanding trait, it’s that teachers demonstrate proficiency in differentiation—a big buzz word in education. Simply put, practicing differentiation begins with having awareness of learning disparities among students and individualizing instruction. Early in the school year, teachers target an area where a student struggles; then, by working collaboratively with parents, administrators and other colleagues, goals are established to help that child achieve a better balance.
At Carmel Creek Elementary, principal Terri Davis says her teachers are highly trained in differentiation and are continuously on the lookout for what she calls the ’tweeners—kids who might fall between the cracks.
“They aren’t learning disabled and don’t qualify for special education,” says Davis. “They are struggling, but there is no money set aside to help those kids. Through multiple assessments, we identify weaknesses and support [these students].”
Creekside Elementary principal Robin Robinson says differentiation has its roots in assessment. Her school uses a computer program called Measurement of Academic Performance three times a year.
“It allows teachers to individualize instruction for every student,” she says. “It’s a formative, rather than a summative measure. You assess a child to identify what the next level of skill-building is. Then that teacher will sit down and say, ‘This is where my kids are this year. How am I going to meet the needs of every student?’ ”
Beyond the Acronyms: What are API and AYP?
The motto of the Poway Unified School District is “Every child can learn.” But when a teacher discovers students lagging as many as four grade levels behind, a lot of support and planning is needed.
Creekside Elementary teachers level the learning field with two techniques: “purposeful grouping” and “looping grade levels.” Students at different stages of ability are grouped together so high achievers can impact others. Parents also have the option to enroll students in a looping class—one that integrates a lower grade with an upper grade. The advantage is that it helps students and teachers ease their way into the next level of learning.
There can be a creative aspect to differentiation, too. Teachers Jessica Dusek and Christina Gonzalez loop fourth- and fifth-grade classes and together came up with an idea that energized a reading circle. Students were asked to read three books on a required reading list, a standard type of lesson one would find in any school. But then the children were asked to come up with ways to sell that book. They were encouraged to create a persuasive advertisement, and they searched for songs from pop culture that emphasized the book’s theme so that music, art and decision-making were integrated into the curriculum in a way that made learning fun.
“It’s not about getting to the end of the textbook,” says Gonzalez, who worked at two charter schools and a public school in Florida before moving to Poway. “As much as we consider standards and curriculum, we are given the freedom to do what’s best for kids. Once, I thought I had lost that spark of creativity. Here, I feel my teaching has come to life.”
Identified here are 45 schools in 10 districts that have exceeded state requirements (by earning at least a 900 API score) as well as federal AYP goals established by the No Child Left Behind Act. The districts and the schools have met federal annual progress goals. Within that group, six schools in three of the districts scored a base API of 950 or higher. Charter, alternative and small schools were not included. Unless otherwise specified, elementary schools include kindergarten through grade 5.
High API:
Sage Canyon Elementary
BASED ON ITS API SCORE, Sage Canyon Elementary is the highest-performing school in the highest performing district in San Diego County. The pressure is on.
“There’s a challenge when you are a high-performing school, and I have a lot of conversations with colleagues about this,” says principal Peg LaRose. “How do you build the commitment and desire in everyone for continual improvement?”
A petite blonde with whirlwind energy, LaRose talks fast and laughs loud. Her favorite spot at her school is a garden in the center courtyard where she stops to take a breath and observe the bustling students on two levels that surround her. She refers to herself as a “data queen,” because she gathers a lot of information for ongoing brainstorming sessions with parents and staff. This month starts her fourth year at Sage Canyon.
“I do a lot of teaching and a lot of learning with my staff,” she says. “That’s how I view my role as principal, and that’s where I get my juice.”
LaRose feels wonderful about her school’s high scores, but she feels better about something else. “When you look at the history of this school, you’ll find that we not only help our kids move from below proficient to proficient, they move from proficient to advanced,” she says. “That’s what I’m most proud of. It tells me we are doing everything we can to look at a child’s needs and differentiate that instruction.”
—M.M.
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