As one of the wealthiest districts in the state (dollars up about 50% in the last five years), SMUHSD schools outperform the wasteland of California high schools overall, but are generally average to weak when grouped with schools with similar demographics and characteristics. Only about 25% of students achieve high learning levels in our schools.  Like nearly all other high schools, SMUHSD schools face three intractable problems that to date defy improvement despite efforts.

Students can’t read.  For many years, half of district students have read below grade level.  In a stunning indictment of elementary school performance on this wealthy Peninsula, one student in three arrives at ninth grade reading at seventh grade level or below.  Despite 9th grade reading development classes, nearly 25% of sophomores are still at seventh grade or below.  To reach grade level, these students must leapfrog several levels each year and current efforts fail to achieve that progress.

Students aren’t graduating.  Undoubtedly related to the inability to read, SMUHSD consistently graduates less than 80% of the number of students entering four years earlier.  Although students move out of the district, no district of any size in the entire state gains students between 9th and 12th grades.  California’s Department of Education now publicly acknowledges state dropout statistics are inaccurate.  

Many graduates are poorly prepared.  According to California State University (CSU), 43% of freshmen from SMUHSD required remediation in English and 42% required remediation in mathematics. CSU accepts high school graduates with a “B” average in the top third of their classes.  Only 35% of entering SMUHSD white male ninth graders meet the UC/CSU entrance requirements with a “C” or better at graduation.  Minorities fair even worse—just 16% of Hispanics, 14% of African-Americans, and 10% of Pacific Islanders meet those requirements.

No experts defend the current comprehensive high school system as an appropriate education vehicle for 21st Century America.  Whereas a small percentage of elementary schools and a smaller percentage of middle schools have improved to meet state targets, high schools are dead in the water.  Yet high school achievement is the ultimate gauge by which we judge K-12 performance.

Addicted, as Martin Luther King described, to the “tranquilizing drug of gradualism,” the comprehensive high school model plods on.  No single remedy will cure high schools’ ills, but it’s time to break the mold with these types of changes.

Year around school.  Closing schools for 10-12 weeks in summer impairs the progress of all students, especially those barely at grade level and below.  A model of nine weeks on, three weeks off still allows for a family vacation period of about 4-5 weeks in summer.  The pace is more rational and poor performance can be immediately remediated during portions of the three week breaks.

Specialized schools.  Schools must serve groups of students with similar shared needs.  To do so requires a disciplined laser focus on a few critical goals.  For example, with only rare exceptions, raising underperforming students from seventh grade levels or less to proficiency for 12th grade content standards is impossible in today’s model.  We need schools dedicated to that mission, staffed with highly trained, motivated teachers. Similarly, we need other schools committed to move stronger students faster, providing them college experience and even an AA degree.  Schools that interest students in math and science are also essential. Project-based learning tied to internships in local companies and nonprofits will deepen the learning and reduce the need for college level remediation.

Updated teacher training.  Most high school teachers have not been prepared to meet society’s need and demand that all students achieve at a high level.  Few know how to teach reading, or how to utilize project based learning or new collaborative approaches to raise educational performance.

Blessed with higher funding and consequently greater talent than many districts, it’s time for SMUHSD to lead the high school reform movement with bold, measurable, quantifiable objectives that prepare all our students for the future.

Vote for Peter H. Hanley on November 8