Washington District Tries Early College School Plan

By Lakiesha McGhee, The Sacramento Bee, Calif.

Apr. 12–Kihla Weber is at a crossroads in her young life.

The sixth-grader must soon decide if she will attend the only public middle school in West Sacramento next fall or explore options in other communities.

"I thought about doing independent studies at home," Kihla said, adding that she prefers to go to school with other children.

The Washington Unified School District will propose another choice tonight that it hopes will stop the district’s declining enrollment at the middle school level, boost student test scores, reduce its dropout rate and help make struggling students college-bound.

The West Sacramento district has partnered with the University of California, Davis, and Sacramento City College to open a new Early College High School. The school would primarily serve students in the district who have barriers to college, officials said.

The independent charter is part of the district’s far-reaching makeover to combat a 30 percent dropout rate and dismal test scores.

The district’s trustees last month voted to expand all its elementary schools to include seventh and eighth grades. The change hinges on an estimated $65 million bond proposed for the November ballot.

The district serves a growing population of about 7,000 students.

Between 2002 and 2005, the district recognized a disturbing trend — a historic drop of about 100 students transitioning from elementary to middle school.

The problem is attributed to lack of choices for students and perceptions about the district’s only middle school. Golden State Middle School is in an older, poorer section of the city.

Board Vice President Mary Leland said the proposed charter school could prevent more students from leaving the district and maybe lure some students back.

"We have always wanted to give our students and families options, and this is a great option for students that have some barriers to education," Leland said. She also voiced some concern about losing state funding to the charter school.

Superintendent Steven Law- rence said the charter school aims to help disadvantaged students by preparing them for college.

If approved, the charter school would give priority to district students based on their academic and economic background, whether they speak English as their first language and if they would be the first in their family to attend college, according to a district report.

Students would have an opportunity to earn college credits at no cost.

"This is a school parents would pay $15,000 to get into," Lawrence said Tuesday at a community meeting. "This would be a high-powered school. We haven’t built a reputation yet but when we do, this will be a school parents want to get their children into."

There are two other Early College High Schools in the Sacramento region: the Ghidotti Early High School in Nevada County and Global Youth Charter High School in Antelope.

West Sacramento parents have expressed interest and concerns.

"I think it’s a good idea," Galinda Wright said after attending a community meeting Monday. "It seems like a different type of school where they’re not just giving them homework, but creating more of a college setting."

Leona Weber, Kihla’s mother, said she would like her daughter to attend the school but is not sure if she’d meet all the qualifications.

"We’re not poor but we still struggle," Weber said.

While some parents applauded the district actions, others said the district is moving too fast. They are questioning motives to get rid of the middle school.

A group of residents calling themselves Padres Unidos of Holy Cross Church formed in response to the district plans to expand elementary schools to eighth grade.

They say parents living in the affluent, south portion of city have pushed for the changes, while parents living in poorer neighborhoods to the north were left uninformed.

"It is crucial that the voices of the Latino community be heard to ensure that the move to K-8 is not about anything other then what’s best for all children in this city, and not just to appease parents who do not want their children to attend a middle school that happens to be in a Latino-dominated area of the city," member Yvette Trevino said.

The Early College High School proposed for West Sacramento would open in the fall on an existing elementary school campus with 60 sixth-graders and 60 seventh-graders, the district report said.

The plan is to add a grade level each year to serve up to 630 students in grades six to 12.

Within about two years, the charter school would move to River City High School, Law- rence said.

River City students would attend a new high school campus under construction.

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Copyright (c) 2007, The Sacramento Bee, Calif.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.

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