‘Raise expectations and see results’
Celebrating Opportunities conference showcases successful strategies for Hispanic students
Welcoming nearly 300 participants to the annual Celebrating Educational Opportunities for Hispanic Students conference, held this year in San Jose April 25-57, CSBA President Paul H. Chatman kicked off a lively forum that explored the successes and challenges of educating the diverse student cultures of California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.
One in nine public school students across the United States today is Hispanic; the proportion will be one in four by 2025. Increasingly, the success of Hispanic students will help determine the success of American education. The numbers—and the stakes—are already much higher in the four southwestern states whose school board associations produce the Celebrating Opportunities conference every year: Nearly half the students in California, Arizona and Texas schools are Hispanic, and more than half of New Mexico’s are.
Because those students often face cultural, language and educational challenges that can undercut their academic achievement, the states’ school boards associations have been taking turns hosting the Celebrating Opportunities conference for 17 years now to share strategies for fostering Hispanic students’ success. Texas will host next year’s conference in Austin March 27-29.
Closing the gap
Closing the achievement gap for California’s students is a primary goal in the education community, and it was the subject of a presentation by Bill Erlendson, assistant superintendent of Educational Accountability and Community Development at the San Jose Unified School District. SJUSD is a 24-mile long district that encompasses a broad economic and culturally diverse swath of Silicon Valley.
“Our mantra at SJUSD is, ‘No school or child is expendable,’ ” Erlendson said. “Our goal is always to raise expectations and to see results.”
As an example of how well the district’s mantra is working, Erlendson discussed impressive gains made at San Jose’s Lincoln High School. The school’s demographics are 60 percent Hispanic; of those, 47 percent are in advanced placement courses. Academic Performance Index scores have narrowed between whites and Hispanics by 36 percent since 2000. The graduation rate stands at 91 percent, and 90 percent of students are college-bound. Erlendson attributes many of the school’s accomplishments—and similar districtwide success stories—to a focus on community engagement, a commitment to continuous improvement, and an awareness of the importance of both preschool for children and professional development for staff.
Agents of change
In a luncheon presentation, Norm Wooten, the National School Board Association’s immediate past president and a director of the Association of Alaska School Boards, urged school board members to be “change agents” when it comes to advocating for Hispanic students. Wooten said there is a significant and growing Hispanic population in Alaska.
“This is not a border-state issue,” Wooten said. “This is an American issue. We have a problem of epic proportions to address. School board members are particularly equipped to address this problem.”
In a comment on the ongoing battle over the federal No Child Left Behind Act, Wooten admitted to being “incensed” that the act’s requirements are inflexible when it comes to testing children with limited or no English skills. He urged participants to support changes to NCLB.
Lives turned around
The Val Verde Unified School District’s presentation about its four-year-old Student Success Academy for at-risk high school students was particularly compelling.
“SSA has built a culture of caring,” said Shelly Yarbrough, VVUSD board president and CSBA director-at-large, American Indian. The district decided early on that the academy would not be “a dumping ground” for students, even though many had been expelled from continuation high schools, and that only the best teachers would be hired.
“We decided from the top down that what is needed for success is support for the child and that we would deal with the problems of gangs, addictions and school absenteeism,” said Norman Towels, VVUSD assistant superintendent and SSA principal. “Our philosophy is to grab these students and try to turn them around.”
Four students who have benefited from the SSA philosophy came to the lectern individually and spoke at length—often emotionally—about what their SSA experiences had taught them. Each was grateful for the support he had received from the school’s educators.
One student, the first in his family to graduate from high school, had experienced homelessness, never knew his father and had a mother who was a drug user.
“Although I haven’t always been the most pleasant to be around, the teachers at school never gave up on me,” the student said. “They always showed me that they really cared.”