IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD : Westminster: Pacific Rim Approach Earns School Top Honor

Cash-strapped schools in California face an formidable challenge: provide an increasingly diverse student population with an education to help youths compete globally. In Orange County, Westminster High School’s efforts to meet this goal were recognized by the U.S. Department of Education last October, when the school received a National Exemplary School award. Only 260 secondary schools nationwide receive the award, which is given every other year.

In addition, Westminster was one of only three high schools in the country to receive a special commendation for its science program. Rather than study a single discipline for the entire term, students learn how a combination of sciences apply to routine activities such as cooking. This “small dose” approach makes it easier to master complex principles and gets students--especially minorities--to take additional science classes, school officials say.

The honors follow a restructuring that began in 1990 to better serve the school’s 2,350 students, more than one-third of whom have limited proficiency in English and come from families on Aid to Families with Dependent Children. After meeting with parents, business leaders, staff and students, school officials set up a program they call the Pacific Rim Academy. “The program allowed us to promote those strengths our students inherently have because of their cultural backgrounds and language and apply them toward an international trade market centered around the Pacific Rim in the 21st Century,” says Principal Bonnie Maspero. It blends traditional academics with a vocational approach to ensure that graduates are technologically literate and have salable job skills and a head start on advanced degrees.

WHAT THEY DO THAT’S DIFFERENT

Among factors cited by the Department of Education were:

Block scheduling: This provides longer classes fewer times a week, similar to college schedules.

Tutorial sessions: These 30-minute sessions are built into the schedule four days a week to let students and teacher have more time together.

Conflict mediation: Each semester, 25 students are trained to use nonviolent methods approved by U.S. Department of Justice and Orange County Mediation Center to resolve peer disputes.

A WORKPLACE APPROACH

As freshmen, students spend four weeks studying six career paths. Six instructors team-teach the course, which lets students identify interests with aptitude and attitude tests. Upperclassmen participate in paid and non-paid internships, one-on-one mentoring with business professionals and course work at nearby community colleges.

Career paths are:

Arts and communication

Home, health and hospitality

Human, government and social services

Business, marketing and computer science

Science and technology

Urban and environmental studies

Westminster High School Population: 2,350 students

Population by race and ethnicity:

Asian or Pacific Islander: 35%

White: 27%

Hispanic: 26%

Other: 6%

American Indian or Native Alaskan: 5%

Black 1%

Orange County High Schools Population: 114,606 students

Population by race and ethnicity: White 51%

Hispanic: 30%

Asian or Pacific Islander: 16%

Black: 2%

American Indian or Native Alaskan: 1%

Sources: Westminster High School, Orange County Department of Education

HOW THEY MEASURE SUCCESS

Since adopting the Pacific Rim approach, school officials say:

The dropout rate fell from 11% to 3.1% in 1992.

The number of students who take a third year of science above district requirements has jumped 400% since 1990.

More than 100 teams of educators from throughout the state and nation visited the campus last year.

A STUDENT’S PERSPECTIVE

KRISSY HEATH

Sophomore, 15

I plan to go to college and major in law. I thought I knew how much I’d have to study before, but the career courses made me research how many years of school I really have to take.

I like block scheduling. It gives you more time to understand the teacher and subject so you don’t get so cluttered. And the tutorial is good because if you’re absent, you don’t have to waste class time to find out what makeup work to do.

The best part of school is the different cultures. You’re not just stuck with one. I like seeing their dances and foods. It’s easy to make friends; I have a variety.

AN OBSERVER’S VIEW

BRIAN METKE

Consultant, former principal of award-winning high school in Burns, Ore., and site visitor for the U.S. Department of Education

Westminster is a very special school due to their location and the makeup of their students, who are roughly one-third Hispanic, one-third Anglo and one-third Vietnamese. (Educators there) believe that if they can’t succeed, California is doomed. Their purpose is not just in the academic sense of raising SAT scores; it’s in the toleration of cultures.

Their science program is very progressive. It is the only school in the district with a farm. Teacher Norm Nakanishi solicited research connections with not only major universities but with enterprises. The administration has allowed this staff to be innovative to solve their own problems within their community rather than whining about Proposition 13 and cuts.

Sources: WESTMINSTER High School, Orange County Department of Education