FULLERTON : Schools Aim for Safety, Teaching of Values

Making schools safe for students and staff, teaching values and providing programs for students who plan to work after graduation are among the immediate goals of the Fullerton Joint Union High School District, based on its latest survey.

Results from the survey, which measures student, staff and parent satisfaction or dissatisfaction, were tabulated over the summer, and the district and each of its seven high schools drew up a list of priorities for the next two years.

One of the district’s objectives is to formally incorporate values, including honesty, respect, compassion, civic duty and responsibility, in its curriculum, said Ron Anderson, assistant to the superintendent.

Another is to restructure its math curriculum to offer a “deeper and broader” understanding of mathematics, he said. Others include promoting integrated courses of study and career paths that prepare students for work after graduation.

A sampling of some of the objectives of the high schools:

* Buena Park: improve cultural acceptance and student attendance.

* Fullerton and Sunny Hills: improve communication between students, staff and parents.

* La Habra: get more instructional supplies.

* La Vista and Troy: increase staff recognition.

* Sonora: improve student progress in math.

Anderson said the survey is “a way to provide us with information about how well we’re doing, to self-evaluate ourselves and our programs and to identify things that we need to look at.”