Districts Pass on Aid Funds

With the deadline just four days away, only two of 13 eligible Orange County school districts have applied for a state improvement program that would bring state-appointed experts and hundreds of thousands of extra dollars into local schools.

The three-year carrot and stick program gives schools $50,000 the first year to pay for a consultant to help them come up with reforms. In the second and third years, schools get up to $200 per pupil to pay for extra reading and math programs or other enrichments.

The money comes with strings: If scores don’t come up within three years, the state can take over the school, replace the principal or even close the campus.

Officials in the Anaheim Union High School and Orange Unified districts submitted all eligible schools, but officials in other Orange County districts, such as Garden Grove Unified and Westminster, said they decided not to participate because they believe local school districts can do a better job of improving schools without extra state regulations. In other districts, such as Santa Ana Unified, officials have not yet made up their minds on whether to apply, although they were notified of eligibility Sept. 16.

“There’s this notion that you really don’t bring in the state unless you’ve exhausted your own resources,” said Gary Rutherford, assistant superintendent for educational services for the Westminster School District, which has three eligible schools but will not be applying. “To the extent that you can keep it local, that’s preferable.”

The Immediate Intervention/Underperforming Schools program is geared to schools with low scores on the Academic Performance Index that have not met their targets for improvement. The state is releasing this year’s API scores on Wednesday, but it informed schools in September whether their scores would make them eligible for the program. The API is initially based on Stanford 9 scores but in later years will also factor in attendance and graduation rates.

Across the state, 342 of 900 eligible schools have applied for 430 spots in the program. Last year, the program’s first year, more than 3,100 schools were eligible, and 1,500 applied for 430 spots. Those schools remain in the program for three years and are not among those applying this year.

State officials said they are not surprised at the drop in applications this year, because fewer schools meet the eligibility requirements. But if enough schools have not applied by Friday’s deadline, the state will randomly assign eligible schools to the program, said Pat McCabe, an administrator in the state Education Department’s policy and evaluation office.

Last year, two schools in the Anaheim City district signed up for the program, but this year officials did not put in applications for its three eligible schools.

“We have a program in place, and we believe our schools are on track,” said Consuela Scheid, the district’s director of special programs.

By contrast, the Anaheim Union High School District stayed out of the program last year because the program was new and unknown, said Mary Dalessie, the district’s coordinator of testing and evaluation.

But this year, officials changed their minds when they learned that nine of their 24 schools were eligible this year.

“How do you explain to your community that your school is considered underperforming?” she said. “Why would you not take advantage of this opportunity to get some help?”

Al Mijares, superintendent of the Santa Ana Unified School District, said officials in his district have not yet decided whether to submit applications for that district’s 10 eligible schools.

“We have to decide if the state’s involvement is going to be of benefit,” he said. “We’re not interested in bureaucracy.”

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Working to Improve

Only 13 of 43 eligible schools in Orange County have applied for a state program to help improve test scores, and officials with the California Department of Education say they might force some schools into the program. Schools that qualify:

ANAHEIM CITY

Melbourne A. Gauer Elementary

Francis Scott Key Elementary

Theodore Roosevelt Elementary

ANAHEIM UNION

HIGH SCHOOL

* Ball Junior High

* Brookhurst Junior High

* Dale Junior High

* Katella High

* Magnolia High

* Orangeview Junior High

* Savanna High

* South Junior High

* Sycamore Junior High

FULLERTON

Woodcrest Elementary

FULLERTON JOINT UNION

HIGH SCHOOL

Fullerton Union High

GARDEN GROVE UNIFIED

Bolsa Grande High

Dr. Leroy L. Doig Intermediate

Ethel M. Evans Elementary

Stephen R. Fitz Intermediate

Los Amigos High

Santiago High

HUNTINGTON BEACH CITY

Joseph R. Perry Elementary

LA HABRA CITY

Las Positas Elementary

MAGNOLIA

Robert M. Pyles Elementary

NEWPORT-MESA UNIFIED

College Park Elementary

ORANGE UNIFIED

* Esplanade Elementary

* Jordan Elementary

* Orange High

* West Orange Elementary

PLACENTIA-

YORBA LINDA UNIFIED

Rio Vista Elementary

Ruby Drive Elementary

SANTA ANA UNIFIED

Century High

Garfield Elementary

Hoover Elementary

Lincoln Elementary

Monroe Elementary

Saddleback High

Sepulveda Elementary

Spurgeon Intermediate

Valley High

R.A. Villa Fundamental Intermediate

WESTMINSTER

Cecil B. Demille Elementary

Dr. Russell I. Johnson Middle

Neomia B. Willmore Elementary

* Applied to the state program.

Source: State Department of Education