A District School Liaison Team has been compiling extensive data concerning Oak Hill Middle School, with the purpose of making recommendations for its Program Improvement (PI) status.
Micky Porter with the Regional System of Districts and School Support (RSDSS) said that the data that has been gathered will be used as a “filter” when considering recommendations to bring before the school board.
The federal No Child Left Behind Act requires annual school accountability as measured by Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in English-language arts and mathematics. A school is identified for Program Improvement, according to the California Department of Education, when for each of two consecutive years it does not make AYP. Oak Hill Middle School is in PI Year 4 and faces restructuring and/or alternative governance.
During Porter”s Wednesday, April 4, update before the Konocti board, she reviewed several steps that were taken by the DSLT. The DSLT examined test scores, visited Oak Hill classrooms, interviewed parents and students and surveyed Oak Hill graduates who now attend Lower Lake High School. Among some of the findings were that parents are concerned for their children”s safety, students exhibit an absence of pride in Oak Hill, and the campus itself is designed so that there are “hidden” areas where students can be beyond immediate supervision. Outside structures did not appear well maintained.
In a majority of classrooms, the DSLT observed a lack of observable enforcement when students disobeyed rules or procedures. “It was difficult to tell if there were no rules or procedures in place, or if the students weren”t expected to follow the rules and procedures.”
Recommendations for reform or restructuring could come before the board at its Wednesday, May 2, meeting.
Contact Cynthia Parkhill at cparkhill@clearlakeobserver.com.
