A.V. HIGH ALMOST AT STATE MANDATE.

Byline: KAREN MAESHIRO Staff Writer

LANCASTER -- Antelope Valley High School is close to meeting a state mandate that all its teachers possess the proper teaching credentials, but with some qualification.

The teaching staff is 94 percent ``highly qualified,'' as defined by federal education reform law, but that does not include special-education instructors.

``No one has ever defined how special education fits in with the federal definition of highly qualified,'' Antelope Valley Union High School District Assistant Superintendent Tim Azevedo said.

``The way special education is taught is in a contained classroom. They teach several subjects. A special day class teacher may teach three or four subjects throughout the day. If you apply the rules to the letter, you would have to have four to five credentials, which is not just realistic. The federal law only addresses how it applies to core-subject teachers who teach (such subjects as) math or science,'' Azevedo said.

The state imposed sanctions on Antelope Valley High School in March because of lagging test scores. Besides being required to have a 100 percent highly qualified teaching staff, the school was assigned a state trustee to oversee the school's operation, and who has final say over day-to-day decisions.

Cerritos educator Nadine Barreto was named trustee in August.

When the sanctions were announced, about 85 percent of Antelope Valley High's teachers were considered highly qualified under the federal No Child left Behind Act, meaning they were teaching in the subject in which they majored or minored in college and have either an intern, preliminary or clear teaching credential.

Barreto said discussions are continuing between state and federal education officials on what to do about special-education teachers.

``It's still unclear as to where they fit in highly qualified, particularly special day class teachers who are teaching all content areas,'' Barreto said.

The state sanctions did not specify a deadline when the school must have all its staff fully credentialed.

``One of the sanctions was to have a plan to recruit and support meeting the 100 percent. Tim Azevedo has a plan in place. (Superintendent David) Vierra has been monitoring that,'' Barreto said. ``They have been recruiting, interviewing and looking for teachers who are fully credentialed.''

The percentage of teachers with proper credentials was increased in part by new hires, and it helped that enrollment went down, officials said. Antelope Valley High has fewer students this year, probably due to the opening of Eastside High School, which is in its second year, and attendance boundary changes, Azevedo said.

The district also offered fully credentialed teachers $2,000 more a year if they committed to work three consecutive years at Antelope Valley High.

Three teachers transferred from other district schools to take advantage of that incentive. Teachers already on staff who qualified for the extra money are still in the process of applying for it.

``It's much better than it used to be. It's close. We are still working on it,'' Azevedo said. ``It's a lot better than it was and it's positive growth.''

Teachers who did not meet credentialing requirements were not forced to leave the school, Azevedo said.

``We are working with the trustee for a process. Involuntary transfers are not something you want to do with any regularity. It does not help morale in certain areas,'' Azevedo said. ``We will work out a plan so that they might get credentialed.''

The school still falls short of the ``highly qualified'' staffing requirement in the area of math teachers.

``Across the state, that is a difficult position to fill. Math teachers who are highly qualified and have knowledge of content and instructional strategies, that is difficult -- along with science positions -- to fill,'' Barreto said.

Antelope Valley High was among the first six California schools to face more serious sanctions because its standardized test scores failed to improve consistently under the state's Immediate Intervention/Underperforming Schools Program.

Antelope Valley High and two other schools were assigned trustees.

karen.maeshiro(at)dailynews.com

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