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Two Elementary Schools Under State Watch

Posted on: Monday, 21 November 2005, 00:00 CST

By Shirley Dang, Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif.

Nov. 20--RICHMOND -- Two West Contra Costa elementary schools recently fell under state watch after narrowly missing state testing targets last school year.

As a result, the state will send an extra $39,000 to the 264 students at El Sobrante Elementary School. The 454-student Washington Elementary School in Point Richmond will receive $61,000.

A large part of the remedy will be to make sure the district is compliant with all state mandates, which includes curriculum training for all teachers and principals, according to a report by Gibson & Associates, a consulting firm hired to serve as part of the state-approved intervention team.

"They really want schools to succeed," said Meg Hudson, an associate at the firm.

The two schools bring the total number of district campuses under state watch to three. El Cerrito High School is in its second year of monitoring. State teams also work with Oak Grove Middle School and Ygnacio Valley High School in Concord, both in the Mt. Diablo school district.

In the case of the elementary schools, neither campus took a particularly precipitous fall in measurable achievement. However, both received state grants -- El Sobrante took in $138,400 the past two school years, while Washington received $168,400 -- that required two years of consecutive progress. The penalty for not doing so is state intervention.

Over the past five years or so, the schools showed significant gains on the state's 1,000-point academic index scale. El Sobrante bumped up its score from 617 in 1999 to 680 in 2004, according to the state Department of Education. Washington jumped from 563 in 1999 to 696 in 2004.

Then in 2004-05, Washington dropped 13 points and El Sobrante school slid back four, according to state data released in August.

Consequently, the schools will be monitored by the state, though they scored significantly higher than a number of the district schools labeled failing by federal standards.

"Sometimes you get schools that don't fit the profile of low-performing schools," said Karen Frison, the district's lead regional superintendent for elementary schools.

Three education consultants from Gibson & Associates of Oakland will serve as the School Assistance and Intervention Team at both campuses.

The report presented Wednesday assesses each school's deficiencies according to a nine-point checklist given by the state.

For instance, at Washington, all teachers instruct students for the appropriate amount of time in math: 60 minutes for kindergartners, two-and-a-half hours for grades 1 through 3, and two hours for grades four through six.

However, according to the report, investigators found that instruction was often interrupted and they suggested setting new policies for the school that could help govern student behavior.

The district is expected to provide extra services and resources for state intervention schools. At El Sobrante, Frison said, the district has already brought in a literacy coach.

To end state monitoring, the schools must show at least one point of growth for two years within a three-year period.

"Even though they only have to grow by one point," Frison said.

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Copyright (c) 2005, Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif.

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Source: Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, Calif.)

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