State to Put 10 Schools to the Test

Ten Orange County schools have been selected to participate in a state improvement program that will bring hundreds of thousands of extra dollars, along with state-appointed experts, to campuses to help boost standardized test scores.

But there is a catch: If the schools’ scores don’t improve in three years, the state can take over or close the campuses, or replace the principals.

Officials say they are willing to take that chance.

“We’re thrilled,” said Carol Lang, principal of College Park Elementary in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District, adding that she wants the school to find a way to boost reading and writing scores.

In addition to College Park, the Orange County schools are: Magnolia and Savanna high schools and Ball, Dale, Orangeview and South junior high schools in the Anaheim Union High School District; and Esplanade, Jordan and West Orange elementary schools in the Orange Unified School District.

Across the state, 550 schools applied for 430 slots in the state program, which is in its second year. Campuses were chosen in a random drawing, said Bill Padia, an administrator in the California Department of Education.

Only 14 Orange County schools applied. Eligible schools in many districts stayed out of the program because administrators were wary of the extra layer of bureaucracy that comes with the program and also of the possibility of losing control.

Within the next few weeks, each of the 10 schools will pick a state-appointed expert, who will be paid $50,000 by the state to help the school figure out what skills students need to improve, and what programs the school can institute to help them. For the two following years, the schools will receive up to $200 per pupil to pay for extra reading and math programs and other enrichments.

Schools that were in the program last year “have certainly been helped,” said Principal Carolyn Houston of South Junior High. She said she hopes her campus can benefit too.

“We are trying to determine where there were problems and where we have solutions,” she said. “Our teachers are working very hard, and so are our students.”