Basically, Santa Ana’s Superintendent Is Right

It is a mark of the frustration many parents feel for public schools in Santa Ana that they camped out in the cold last winter to get their children into an elementary school that stresses the basics in education.

Greenville Fundamental Elementary School had 50 openings. Hundreds of parents lined up, hoping to send their children to a school that requires parental involvement, implements a strict dress code and teaches only in English.

Two weeks ago, the superintendent of the Santa Ana Unified School District, Al Mijares, sought to extend the back-to-basics concept to all schools in Santa Ana that teach classes from kindergarten through eighth grade.

Mijares called for an emphasis on reading, writing and arithmetic. Ranking behind the big three would be subjects including science, social studies, health, physical education and the arts.

That the head of the Santa Ana school system, biggest in Orange County, seventh largest in California, would back such a plan sends a message that the schools under his stewardship need to do better. And for any adult whose education started with the 3 Rs and relegated all else to second place until the basics were mastered, it will be easy to believe Mijares is on the right track.

The district may be right to conclude that it has no alternative but to try something new. The enthusiasm shown for the Greenville school suggests that many parents agree. At the same time, it will be important to recognize that in education there are no quick fixes. You cannot demolish one system and substitute another. The debates over reading and math learning seem to suggest that blending the best of different approaches works best.

A grounding in the fundamentals, the 3 Rs, is needed for success in higher grades. All buildings need good foundations. But it is possible to teach math in a science class and to require the reading of scientific concepts in an English class. That allows an emphasis on the basics without tossing all else away.

Art and music, too, are parts of a whole person. They cannot be reserved for the elites, the wealthy school districts. A study earlier this year concluded that piano lessons boost youngsters’ reading abilities, increasing skills needed for science and math. But even without the utilitarian argument, the subjects need to be taught. Again, balance is called for. A Santa Ana school district report said a typical elementary school day now devotes a little more than an hour to the subjects that will be secondary. Would 50 minutes be enough? Thirty minutes?

One advantage wealthy districts have over impoverished ones is students who are ready to learn when the school bell rings. Too many teachers in poor districts have to worry whether their students were fed before school, whether they have outgrown their shoes but have no money for new ones, whether there is any paper or crayons at home. Those materials outside the classroom supplement the education going on inside.

Emphasizing the 3 Rs won’t change the demographics. A new emphasis will not produce miracles. Reaching out to parents--and in Santa Ana that usually means in Spanish, the language usually spoken at home--is needed. Parents need to know how they are expected to help educate their child.

The teachers are needed too. Those who specialize in teaching history or science cannot be cast aside. The state required that teachers approve establishment of charter schools several years ago, realizing that they are essential to a good education.

At least two of the five members of the school district board appear leery of Mijares’ proposal, and he has acknowledged that details need to be worked out. But the superintendent is right that something needs to be done in the district. When students consistently score in the bottom 25% when measured against other students in California, something is wrong.

Getting children to read, write, add and subtract early in their education should be a minimal goal. If the goal is met, test scores should rise and students should be better prepared for high school.

It will not be easy and it will not be quick. But it is good to know that there is recognition that change is needed.