K–12 | Daily Report

Since March, Santa Ana Unified School District, the third largest district in California, has been faced with this dilemma: Do we apply for the federal School Improvement Grants and undergo drastic reform, or do we forgo the program and pass up much-needed federal dollars?

Photo by Tiffany Szerpicki

Last week, based upon the fine reporting by the Contra Costa Times, we wrote about a loophole that would allow districts like Santa Ana Unified to further avoid the reform measures, if they so desired.

Santa Ana on Wednesday became one of the first districts to announce they would take the cash and the reform.

According to the Orange County Register, six schools – Century High, Santa Ana High, Saddleback High, Valley High, Willard Intermediate and Sierra Intermediate – will apply for between $50,000 and $2 million of SIG money. The program would then require each school to either fire the principal and teachers; close and reopen as a charter school; close and reassign the students to other schools; or replace the principal and implement curriculum and instructional changes.

Santa Ana hadn't decided as of Wednesday which reform plan they would adopt. It is unlikely, however, that any of the schools would be shutdown, district spokesperson Angela Burrell told the Register.

Santa Ana's six schools were the only Orange County campuses out of 188 schools on the state's "persistently low-achieving" list.

They collectively share the highest concentrations of English learners and poverty-level students of all county schools, factors many educators attribute to reasons schools struggle academically, the Register reported.

Last month, the state Department of Education told school districts that they had no way to enforce the reform measures if districts decided not to participate in the federal program. 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 rejecting the mandated reforms.