RESPONSE MIXED TO SANCTIONS SCHOOLS FEEL FRUSTRATION, RELIEF.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer

LANCASTER - State sanctions against Antelope Valley High School that include giving a trustee final say over day-to-day decisions have elicited mixed emotions from parents and teachers.

Relief was one, because the state could have closed the school or converted it to a parent-run charter school, but there also was frustration that efforts made by Antelope Valley High staff to improve students' academic performance have come to naught.

``Some teachers see it as a positive step to improve test scores and help our kids; some teachers see it as one more thing to worry about,'' psychology and health teacher Sharon Newton said. ``The teachers felt like for the most part they have done everything they can. It is very frustrating, jumping through all the hoops and not making a difference according to the state.''

Parent Susan Hernandez said the sanctions have produced an air of uncertainty and concern but she said parents and staff are far from adopting a defeatist attitude.

``It's going to be different. We don't know what to expect,'' said Hernandez, also the school's outreach coordinator. ``I just see for myself as a parent and employee, we are starting a parent-teacher-student organization. Our plan is to move forward and be as positive as possible in what we need to do to meet the needs of the students. We have to make the best of the circumstances. Even though we are on shaky ground, it doesn't matter, we are going to move forward.''

Antelope Valley High School and Wilsona Elementary School in Lake Los Angeles are among the first six California schools being sanctioned under the state's Immediate Intervention/Underperforming Schools Program.

The state began monitoring Antelope Valley High and Wilsona not because their test scores were especially low, but because they dropped or stayed the same for two consecutive years. After the schools were singled out in 2003 for failing to improve test scores, their instructional programs were audited by outside educators. The auditors, called School Assistance and Intervention Teams (SAIT), recommended steps to improve students' academic performance. With the improvement plans, the schools were required to improve Academic Performance Index scores for two years in a row between 2003 and 2005 but did not do so. That made them subject to the next level of sanctions. As part of the latest measures, state officials ordered Antelope Valley High to ensure that 100 percent of its teachers possess the proper teaching credentials and that tutoring and other services are accessible to all students who need them. More than 80 percent of the high school's teachers are considered highly qualified.

Wilsona also is facing sanctions, though less serious. It will have to work with a new SAIT team, this time one from the Ventura County Office of Education, and also ensure that all of its teaching staff is highly qualified and that services are available to students.

The trustee and SAIT team will be assigned to the two schools at least through August 2008 and until the schools meet designated growth targets in their state API scores for two consecutive years.

``I'm very pleased with the process. I feel that it's supporting us and continuing in the direction where we are making tremendous progress,'' Wilsona Superintendent Ned McNabb said. ``Reading between the lines, it's a pat on the back of Wilsona School because they are not telling us to drop something that is important.''

Ninety-two percent of Wilsona School's teachers are highly qualified. The statewide average is more than 80 percent, McNabb said.

Antelope Valley High and Wilsona were each visited by a state Department of Education team for two days in January to help state officials decide what sanctions to impose.

The resulting report said Antelope Valley High's classroom instruction was ``neither purposeful nor effective,'' but high school officials said the report painted an incomplete portrait from a ``snapshot'' observation of the campus.

``Nowhere in the report did they say anything about the high school's special education population,'' which is about 25 percent, board president Donita Winn said. ``It's one of our biggest challenges and one of the contributing factors in not making test scores. It's frustrating that they didn't see some of the challenges that A.V. has.''

District officials also pointed out that the SAIT team the high school has been working with for the past three years has reported that Antelope Valley has made significant progress or achieved the benchmark on the recommended improvement steps.

``Another team comes down and says, 'You haven't done what we needed you to do.' That's been the hardest part for the staff. They did achieve what corrective actions the team asked us to achieve,'' Winn said.

The high school held a staff meeting after the state decision was announced.

``There were a lot of questions, and most we didn't have answers for yet. They were very curious and very anxious,'' Winn said.

Staffers and parents said the state action was not unexpected and that having a trustee will not be a completely new experience.

``It seems pretty understandable. Everybody is pretty accepting of the sanctions and are willing to work with it,'' said Krista Thomsen, an English teacher and literacy coach. ``A trustee will not be anything real new to us. We will probably see this person more often. We had a state representative working with us for the last three years. It's not going to be anything real out of the ordinary for us.''

``We've come a long way from where we were. I feel upbeat about that. We still have a hill to climb. There's still work to be done,'' said parent Michelle Beverly, who is the school's volunteer coordinator.

``My attitude is if it will help bring test scores up and kids' future success, great. If it's going to be a hindrance to their self-confidence, self-esteem and attitudes, I don't know,'' Newton said.

Antelope Valley High and Wilsona were among the first to volunteer for II/USP program, which offered struggling schools additional funding and assistance but has penalties for schools that did not improve student achievement for at least two years in a row.

Three groups of 430 schools each have been funded beginning since 1999. To date, 990 schools have successfully met the accountability requirements and exited the II/USP program, 78 schools remain under watch, and 222 schools have been state-monitored. Of these state monitored schools, 42 have made consistent academic growth and are no longer being monitored.

Karen Maeshiro, [phone]

karen.maeshiro(at)dailynews.com