Santa Ana Unified to Debate ‘3 Rs’ Plan

A far-reaching plan to spend more time teaching basic skills to elementary and middle school students will face public scrutiny tonight at a meeting of Santa Ana Unified School District’s Board of Education.

At issue is whether educators should emphasize reading, writing and mathematics above all other areas of study, including science, social studies, health, physical education and fine arts.

Supt. Al Mijares has proposed the curriculum change in an effort to boost ninth-graders to at least the national average in standardized tests of basic skills within five years. He calls the proposal “Project ATM-Above the Mean.” If necessary, he said, some subjects could be taught after school or on weekends to make room for instruction in the three Rs.

On the whole, Santa Ana students have lagged far behind their counterparts nationwide. The district faces formidable obstacles: It is one of the poorest in Orange County, and most of its students come from Spanish-speaking homes and are not fluent in English.

The school board meeting will start at 7 p.m. in district headquarters at 1601 E. Chestnut Ave.

At least two trustees on the five-member board have expressed reservations about a plan that district officials acknowledge remains incomplete.

Audrey Yamagata-Noji said Monday that Mijares could face challenges in building a community consensus.

“You never want to make a change so radical that you alienate your employees and parents in the district,” Yamagata-Noji said. She said she would support trying out the program with students from kindergarten through third grade.

Trustee Robert W. Balen has said he wants to ensure that the reforms would not damage the district’s music and art programs.

District officials say they want to send a message that strong change is needed to help Santa Ana students catch up to their peers in Orange County and elsewhere--even if that means sacrificing some time that would otherwise be spent on such subjects as science and history.

“Obviously, we don’t want to get kids into the eighth and ninth grades who have never heard of the scientific method or the Declaration of Independence. That’s going too far in the other direction,” said Joe Tafoya, a deputy superintendent. But he added: “We want to send a message out there that this is really a priority.”

Mijares’ proposal comes as Santa Ana officials are reviewing another cornerstone of their curriculum: bilingual education. An extensive UC Riverside study of programs for students with limited English-speaking skills is expected to be presented to the school board next week.