A school finds a singular road to academic success
Bunche Elementary defies conventional wisdom and makes rapid strides without reliance on the state's intervention programs.
By Howard Blume, Times Staff Writer, January 14, 2007

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Compton fifth-grader Alejandra Guizar has already gone to class at Tufts, Stanford, Emory and Princeton. And it's just by chance that she missed out on Harvard.

These are the names of classrooms at Bunche Elementary School in the Compton Unified School District. Naming them after colleges is one small piece of the school's enveloping academic culture that emphasizes achievement and, ultimately, college aspirations.

Bunche students have responded with remarkable gains, defying the conventional wisdom that poor and minority students are virtually destined to land on the downside of the achievement gap. And Bunche did this without the help of the state's two major intervention programs for low-performing schools.

This success puts Bunche at center stage of a debate over the state's school reforms and the federal No Child Left Behind Act. A group of contrarian researchers has singled out Bunche and 303 other rapidly rising California schools as evidence that schools statewide can and ought to be improving much faster. And that all schools can reach the target of bringing all students to grade level by 2014.

"Schools rise to the level of expectation we place upon them," said James S. Lanich, coauthor of the just-released "Failing Our Future: The Holes in California's School Accountability System and How to Fix Them." "If we don't have a high level of expectation, schools won't improve."

Hundreds of California schools are "failing" under the federal standards, but one that's shining bright — and adding its own wrinkle to the debate over school reform — is Ralph Bunche Elementary, named for the black American diplomat who won the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize.

At this school, the primary mover has been first-time Principal Mikara Solomon Davis, who arrived in mid-2000. Some would say she's done the near impossible.

Bunche has blown past the target score of 800 on the state's Academic Performance Index. Its 868 compares favorably to the scores at schools in Beverly Hills and San Marino. A school would score 875 if every student scored "proficient" on standardized tests.

Visually, the school sparkles as well, with clean, recently modernized classrooms, well-tended grass and rose bushes.

The campus sits in what looks to be a solidly middle-class minority neighborhood in the city of Carson. But a closer look suggests the classic profile of a school with poor achievement: The student body is about half black and half Latino, most of the students speak limited English, and the entire student body qualifies for free lunches. Some students come from the surrounding neighborhood, but most are bused from Compton.

In 1999, the first year of the state's current testing and improvement regimen, the school ranked in the lowest 10% of schools statewide.

With qualified, experienced principals in short supply, the school system hired a smart, hardworking prospect.

Solomon Davis, in her late 20s, had just earned a master's degree in education at Columbia University, which followed three years of teaching in Compton. There she impressed her own principal as one of the most gifted teachers she'd ever supervised.

Tireless, idealistic, demanding and at the time single, Solomon Davis critiqued daily the individual lessons of her teachers, including the veteran ones to whom she made clear: "It's not an 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. job. And you're going to be asked to do a lot of work."

Only two of 21 teachers remain from before her arrival. About eight departed, she said, because they disliked the new regimen. Another half dozen or so made a strong transition but have since retired. Solomon Davis' hires tended to match her own profile: young, energetic and relatively inexperienced. There's been substantial turnover in these ranks as well.

Several, including Solomon Davis, were affiliated with Teach for America, which places virtually untrained recent graduates from top colleges in urban classrooms.

So what does the Bunche example say about the widely accepted notion that it's experience that matters most in teaching effectively?

Solomon Davis has kept the academic rise going by hiring carefully and by developing, in essence, her own monitoring and training system. Her ongoing accountability measures are the state standards for each grade level, which specify what students are supposed to know. Top grades for students, she said, have to equal mastery of these standards.

On a recent day, 25-year-old Georgetown University grad Joanna Belcher was leading her fourth-graders through a crisply paced lesson on figures of speech. She handed out a passage from "The House on Mango Street" by Sandra Cisneros, noting: "I didn't read this till I was in college, but you guys are ready for this.

"Why do you think Sandra Cisneros is using figurative language?" she asked, not needing to explain the term.

The class seemed to be in hurry-up mode, with no room for downtime, even when children acted out examples of figurative language.

A similar pacing was proceeding next door under math teacher Anne Mills, 26.

In almost the same breath, she calmly explained reducing fractions while also telling a slouching student to sit up and admonishing them all:

"I hope you're feeling more comfortable than you're showing. Once again, this is on your test tomorrow."

There's a sense that the staff knows it's playing catch-up. Solomon Davis recounted a recent discussion with the principal of Vista Grande Elementary in Rancho Palos Verdes — where parents assume and demand academic excellence.

"There 'the machine' pushes her," said Solomon Davis. "Here, you have to push it."

And that means pushing parents, who adjusted to a principal who in her first year issued more than 100 suspensions in a school of 467 students.

"There was such an issue with discipline that you couldn't teach. Disrespect for teachers and adults was the norm," said Solomon Davis. When parents confront her over a suspension, "I begin by saying, 'Our goal is college for your child. We're not here to punish,' " Solomon Davis said.

But would parents in a prosperous neighborhood accept such a discipline-heavy school? There also has been little room for arts and physical education, which suburban parents typically expect and raise funds to get more of.

The formula works for Kimberly Bush, who moved her children to Bunche from a Catholic school, where it didn't seem to her that the staff had college expectations for students.

Church bookkeeper Aneteria White said she checked out the school's test scores on the Internet before signing up 9-year-old Benjamin.

The fourth-grader said his previous public school was dirtier and gang members sometimes would jump the fence, which scared him.

"I'm learning more here," he said.

But if the school's rising reputation is attracting motivated parents, is that responsible for some of the improved achievement? Some researchers believe in this effect, especially at some charter schools, and say that it can skew a comparison with other schools.

Alejandra, 11, always was a strong student but has progressed from speaking limited English to testing as "advanced" in English as well as in math.

"What I like best is that we have high academics," said Alejandra, the editor of the school newspaper. "I like that our teachers are very wonderful and they try to challenge our minds."

Fifth-grader Mykayla Rowley entered the school in second grade testing "below basic." In last year's fourth-grade state tests, she earned a "proficient" in English and an "advanced" in math.

Solomon Davis hasn't taken part in either of the two recent state intervention programs — so she hasn't had the benefit of as much as $400 extra per student per year. But she does get the state and federal money that has, for years, been provided to schools that serve limited English-speaking students and those from low-income families. At her school, that's added up to about $240,000 a year.

"The way we spend our money is a huge part of what we do," said Solomon Davis. "We really use every dollar and try to spend it in the classroom and on the students."

Much of the funding went to reduce class sizes and to pay teachers to tutor after school. Until recently, she handled the extra administrative work for these programs herself to make the money go further. Solomon Davis is currently on extended maternity leave and relying on interim Principal Amber Young, 27, a Teach For America hire who stayed to become the principal's protege.

If the Bunche success story can be readily emulated, then the federal goal of having all students quickly at grade level lies within reach. But many academics and state education officials — who insist that they support high standards — say the federal 2014 timetable is unrealistic, especially for middle and high schools and also because more money is needed to do the job.

Lanich's honor roll lists 262 elementary schools, but only seven middle schools. Among some 900 L.A. Unified schools, 13 elementary schools are on the list and no middle schools.

Keeping Bunche on the trajectory to 100% proficiency requires constant vigilance, said Solomon Davis — and she's ever on the hunt for new ideas to help her students learn: "It will always be a challenge to keep it going."

When it comes to the real Harvard, she doesn't want Alejandra and her classmates to miss out.

howard.blume@latimes.com

A Bunche of Ideas
How a Compton Unified school went to the head of the class
January 14, 2007
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1. Begin with classroom discipline. In her first year, Principal Mikara Solomon Davis issued more than 100 suspensions at the school of 467 students. Many of the suspensions are served in school, so students are removed from their classrooms but their work still is supervised.

2. Hire carefully. Applicants write an essay explaining their teaching philosophy and how it would boost test scores. They must demonstrate lessons with students in front of administrators, other teachers and parents. They're also asked if they're willing to tutor outside of regular class time.

3. Train teachers on site. Teachers write the objectives of every lesson on the board. For as long as necessary, they file a daily eight-step lesson plan that is critiqued daily. Mentor teachers are assigned to help.

4. Test weekly on state standards. Results are immediately reviewed and used to plan teaching. Students who begin to develop academic problems are referred to a team, which includes parents, to create an education plan, much like the process used to design tailored programs for special education students.

5. Do grade-level planning and troubleshooting. The principal attends weekly meetings in person or reviews and comments on the minutes of every gathering.

6. Motivate students. With cheers and rewards, the school celebrates achievement and improvement.

7. Inculcate goals and dreams. Teachers and administrators stress the importance, desirability and expectation of college. Every grade visits a college every year.

8. Develop parental support. Parents must sign daily behavior forms. The school has frequent meetings and training sessions on helping students study.

9. Seek out new ideas. The staff regularly looks for best practices elsewhere. And even though the school has made huge strides using the Open Court phonics-based reading program, it's now added a literature component to deepen the intellectual content.

10. Tweak and maintain. The first presumption: Unless every student is advanced, there is something more you can do. The second: Without constant vigilance, a high-achieving school can readily slip back into mediocrity.

— Howard Blume

howard.blume@latimes.com

California Business For Education Excellence
Honor Roll

A rising school in L.A. Unified
January 14, 2007
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Stagg Street Elementary in Van Nuys is among a comparatively small group of California schools on target to meet the demanding 2014 academic goals of the federal No Child Left Behind law. Here's how the school stacks up.

Principal: Lisa Gaboudian

Population: About 500 students: 86% are minorities; 73% are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch; 34% are English learners.

The scores: 852 on the state's Academic Performance Index, putting it in the top 20% of California schools, well above the state's target score of 800. In 1999, the school was in the lowest 30% of schools. Schools statewide have achieved rising scores, but Stagg Street far outpaces the average growth.

Strategies: Focusing on improving student writing at every grade level; targeting students with the greatest academic problems; encouraging students to get academic help after school; developing the skills of a stable, veteran staff; using federal funds to put teacher assistants under the supervision of a part-time teacher. Principal attends every weekly grade-level planning meeting.

Comments from Gaboudian:

The philosophy:

"You have to have a clear vision of where you want to take the school. We have the firm belief that no child will fail. That's the key. I have very clear expectations of myself and the teachers. They know exactly what we expect of them. I love what I do. I have a passion for education."

On testing:

"If you target four or five kids in each classroom, it makes a big difference in the scores school-wide. The key is analyzing the scores and really getting to know the kids. Every six weeks, we look at the growth of the kids. Looking is one thing, planning and preparing lessons is another."

On planning:

"We set school-wide goals each year. And each grade level has its own goals. If the teachers see that reading comprehension is a problem at that grade level, they work on that. Or if their students are not as strong in vocabulary or spelling. There has to be a measurable objective."

On indirect academic efforts:

"A very strong component is character education. Our school policy is called kindness policy. I don't believe in punishment. Students write; they do reflections. A positive environment helps kids to perform better. Part of that positive environment is beautiful school grounds, which we have worked on. There are flowers everywhere."

On the role of the school district:

"The school district initiatives hold us accountable. The coherence of curriculum across the district has been especially great with the reading and math."

— Howard Blume

howard.blume@latimes.com

The debate: Here's a look at the research on California's school intervention programs.

The question: Have the state's school intervention efforts worked?

Background

The state's recent reform push began in 1999. Since then, there have been two programs specifically for low-achieving schools. The Immediate Intervention Underperforming Schools Program was funded through the 2004-05 school year. Participating schools received a $50,000 planning grant and then $200 per student per year for up to three years.

Since 2001, the major initiative to help low-achieving schools has been the High-Priority Schools Grant Program, which tries to address shortcomings of the first effort. Schools receive longer funding, get twice as much per student and must adhere to more exact requirements.

The debate

• Report: "Failing Our Future: The Holes in California's School Accountability System and How to Fix Them" (January 2007)

Conclusion: The state's two major school intervention programs have spent more than $1.3 billion and made little or no difference in improving academic achievement.

Evidence: For the most part, schools that participated in intervention programs did no better than schools that did not participate.

Quote: Schools "did what they were asked to do, but we've not asked them to do much of anything."

— Coauthor James S. Lanich

Fact Sheet

• Reports: State-funded evaluations of intervention programs (September 2005 and September 2006)

Conclusion: The state's reform efforts have made a significant positive difference overall. The achievement gap persists. Intervention programs are getting better, with promising results.

Evidence: On state measures, achievement scores overall are up substantially since 1999.

Quote: "From a policy standpoint, it's more important to find where this did work in some places and why — and where it didn't work and why."

— Wendy Harris, the state's assistant superintendent for school improvement

Links: To see links to reports on the first and second interventions, go to latimes.com/bunche.

• Report: "Crucial Issues in California Education, 2006: Rekindling Reform" (November 2006)

Conclusion: The state's reform record is mixed. Promising early progress is at risk. Educators need fewer get-tough sanctions and more resources, money that must be spent with better focus and consistency.

Evidence: Test scores are up but with some signs of leveling off and even wider achievement gaps in middle school. Progress in lower grades has not been replicated in upper grades.

Quote: "Rules and penalties hitting many schools don't motivate educators and students in the long run." What's needed is "accountability with crisp incentives for growth, freeing up school principals from layers of regulation and stronger resources overall."

EdWeek Chat On "A Nation At Risk"

How Well Are States Educating Our Neediest Children?

States Get Poor Grades on Closing Achievement Gaps
By Linda Jacobson

Despite the attention focused on poor and minority students by the federal No Child Left Behind Act, most states are doing a poor job of narrowing achievement gaps, concludes a “report card” released last week.

Issued by the Washington-based Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, a conservative-leaning think tank, the report gives states an average grade of D on student achievement. It argues that progress has been negligible since the 1983 release of A Nation at Risk, the landmark report warning of a “rising tide of mediocrity” in American public schools.

For More Info
"The Fordham Report 2006: How Well Are States Educating Our Neediest Children?" is available from the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation. “Student achievement in the U.S. remains essentially flat even as the demands of a 21st-century economy stiffen and the education systems of other lands outpace ours,” the report says. “The U.S. urgently needs to become a nation in which every child learns to his or her full potential between kindergarten and 12th grade.”

Like Education Week’s annual Quality Counts report, Fordham’s report—which the authors describe as “unabashedly judgmental”—gives states letter grades, but it uses different indicators.

Each state received a student-achievement grade, based primarily on results from the 2005 National Assessment of Educational Progress in reading, mathematics, and science for African-American students, Hispanic students, and those from low-income families. Children from those groups on average trail on standardized tests compared with their white and Asian peers.

A quarter of the grade was also calculated using high school graduation rates for African-Americans, Hispanics, and children from low-income families, as well as statewide passing rates on Advanced Placement tests for students from those groups.

Of the 50 states, most made D’s, three made F’s, and six had insufficient data for the foundation to calculate a grade.

SOURCE: Thomas B. Fordham Foundation The report was originally released Oct. 25, but was withdrawn from the group’s Web site after errors in data were discovered. Still, the recalculations led to only minor changes.

In a press release, foundation President Chester E. Finn Jr. said the results dispute some of the rhetoric from state leaders about improving student performance.

“Many state officials have claimed credit for gains in student achievement,” he said. “But this study casts doubt on many such claims. In reality, no state has made the kind of progress that’s required to close America’s vexing achievement gaps and help all children prepare for life in the 21st century. Nor are most states making the bold reforms most likely to change this reality.”

Gloria Dopf, the Nevada education department’s deputy superintendent of instruction, research, and evaluative services, said she understands that researchers don’t have much choice but to use NAEP when comparing states. But the report ignores improvements in student performance on Nevada’s tests, which are aligned with NAEP, she argued.

“We do have performance gaps, but we are systemically working on those gaps, unlike the Fordham article indicated,” she said. “(The report) was very harsh, and not really reflecting some of the strategies and reform initiatives in the state.”

‘No-Nonsense Reforms’
States also received an “education reform” grade, which focuses on state efforts in the areas of curriculum content, standards-based reform, and school choice. In those areas, states don’t look so bad. The average score is C-minus, and three states—Arizona, California, and New Mexico—even received a B-minus.

To some extent, the states scoring near the top in the education reform category—California, Georgia, Massachusetts, and New York, for example—are among the same ones that ranked near the top in the foundation’s “State of State Standards” report, issued in August.

In the profile on California, the state scores points from Fordham for leading the nation in the number of charter schools in operation, hiring alternatively certified teachers, and eliminating bilingual education.

“If the no-nonsense reforms currently in place retain their stature in the state’s education establishment, the state’s school system could, in a few years, become a source of pride instead of the punch line for a bad joke,” the report says.

Hilary McLean, a spokeswoman for the California education department, said state officials were pleased that Fordham recognized “our high standards,” but added that working on closing the achievement gaps will be a major focus of the department over the next year.

Vermont, which the report called the “cellar dweller,” was the only state to receive an F for education reform. The report cites the state’s opposition to charter schools and a high school exit exam.

“In this small state of less than 600,000 people, 97 percent of whom are white, the idea that schools must be ‘reformed’ does not go down well with folks,” the authors write.

The report, which the foundation plans to issue annually, concludes by saying that even though some people are looking to the federal government to improve achievement among poor and minority students, the responsibility rests ultimately with the states—“every one of which has constitutionally obligated itself to educate its citizens, every one of which has created a ‘system’ for carrying out that obligation, every one of which sets most of the ground rules by which that system operates, and almost every one of which provides the lion’s share of the funding for that system.”