Colina School Gets A+ From Supt. Eastin

Watching a science experiment, eavesdropping on a spelling test and checking out a math lesson at Colina Middle School, the state’s top education official was clearly impressed. And frustrated.

“Overall, the school gets an A+,” said state Supt. of Public Instruction Delaine Eastin after a tour of the Thousand Oaks school. “California gets a ‘needs to improve’ for these kids.”

The school’s grade is based on posting the highest test scores in Ventura County at the last statewide assessment, boasting waiting lists for a voluntary middle-school program and having award-winning teachers and programs.

The state’s mediocre marks stem from, among other things, crowded classrooms, aging facilities and inadequate funding for technology, libraries and supplies.

Eastin also admired the intimate environment at the middle school. “Middle school is a place where a lot of students get lost,” she said. “Middle school is a place where a lot of parents get pushed aside.”

But with an innovative counseling program where parents become equal partners in their children’s education, she said, that doesn’t happen at Colina.

Eastin’s visit was a chance for Colina “to show off the results that come from hard work,” said Conejo Valley Supt. Jerry Gross, part of the 12-person entourage following the schools chief.

The people who know Colina best--students and parents--seemed a little awe-struck at the attention. Not that their blue-and-white school isn’t deserving, they added.

“I just love it here because it’s a really kid-involved place,” said eighth-grader Neelamba Jhala, 13. “In our student government, everything is done by the kids and everyone participates.”

The school encourages parents to volunteer in classrooms, the nurse’s office and the counselor’s office, said PTA President Peggy Buckles.

The teachers aren’t bad either, said eighth-grader Katie McCurdy, 13, who rattled off the names of the school’s Amgen-award-winning instructors.

“All of the teachers are great--all of them,” she said. “They teach us a lot, but they make it fun. My old school was kind of boring. This one is alive.”