San Bernardino City Unified School District will initiate drastic reforms at 11 schools, becoming the second school district to implement the state's plan for transforming under-performing campuses.
Flickr photo by Bart Everson
District Superintendent Arturo Delgado told the Press-Enterprise that school officials want to convert six of the 11 schools into charters. Each of the five remaining schools will have their principals replaced. Two of the principals – Karen Craig of Arroyo Valley High School and Sandy Robbins of San Gorgonio High – had already planned to retire. The other three administrators may be moved to other schools or demoted, the Press-Enterprise reported.
San Bernardino won't close any of the 11 schools on the state's "underperforming" list. The teachers at the schools won't lose their jobs because of the list, Delgado said. That doesn't mean some won't be let go for financial reasons, however. Roughly 218 instructors have received notices that they could be laid off due to budget cuts.
All 11 schools will remain on the state's list for at least three years. Still, Delgado said he was optimistic that each school would make noticeable improvements. San Bernardino is the sixth largest school district in the state, serving roughly 57,000 students.
"This is a program that is not that much different from other programs the state has rolled out, where monies were attached to programs to make gains in test scores," he said. "San Bernardino has always taken advantage of those programs. We have a great track record."
San Bernardino joins the Santa Ana Unified as the only two school districts to publically agree to implement the state's controversial reform program. However, San Bernardino becomes the first district to try to improve its campuses by turning them into charters. San Bernardino will ask its local school board on May 25 to approve its charter proposal. Santa Ana has not announced the reform options it will adopt.
Both school districts chose to implement the state's plan, despite a loophole that didn't make the reforms mandatory.
The reforms, as reported by the Contra Costa Times, were tied to the acceptance of federal School Improvement Grants. But in March, the state Department of Education told school districts that they had no way to enforce the reform measures if districts decided to reject the federal dollars.
Oakland Unified was an example of a school district that openly suggested it may take advantage of the loophole. San Diego school officials declared they would apply for the federal funds, while forgoing the mandated reforms.
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