Schools fail federal goals

"We believe we're going to be taken off the list," said Patrick Gemma, Sequoia Union High School District superintendent.

The listing does not mean the school necessarily gets extra money, but rather faces a ladder of sanctions.

Schools listed may also face stigmatization.

The Sequoia district was added because 94.7 percent - rather than the required 95 - of students took the test required for PI District designation, Gemma said. The high number of transient students in the Sequoia district meant that the missing test-takers either left the district, or were ill, Gemma said.

The state, which jumped seven percentage points to 28 percent in low-income schools on the list, also has qualms with the federal law.

"I continue to think that California's own accountability system - the Academic Performance Index - is a fairer and more accurate measurement of school performance," said Jack O'Connell, the state superintendent of Public Instruction in a statement.

It makes more sense to measure schools on their academic growth from year to year rather than designating schools passing or failing based on an "arbitrary" status bar, O'Connell said.

Locally, teachers have difficulty teaching non-native English speakers at many of the listed schools, said Alexa Hauser, administrator of Curriculum Services for the San Mateo County Board of Education.

"It's distressing to see that a number of schools that have already been on the list continue to move through PI, which means the results are not getting better," Hauser said.

Susan Alvaro of the County Board of Education said 19 schools on the list out of about 110 in San Mateo County could be much worse. She added that many students don't take seriously the standardized tests used to rank the schools because students are not given grades - the schools are.

All of the schools on the list are marked Title I - schools that have a high percentage of lower-income students and get additional federal funding.

Schools in year one, like Sequoia High School and four elementary schools, must allow students to transfer to other schools at the district's expense. Schools like San Mateo High School and Bayside Middle School in year two must provide tutoring and the right to transfer.

Schools in year three, as Menlo-Atherton High School is listed, must make major changes like replacing school staff, hiring consultants or extending the school year. Year four schools have to start restructuring or face state takeover. Four elementary schools in the county are in year four.

Stephen Baxter can be reached by e-mail at stephen@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 109. What do you think of this story? Send a letter to the editor: letters@smdailyjournal.com.

Underperforming schools

District is in Bold

School is in light

Aurora High Charter

Aurora High Charter - Year 2*

Cabrillo Unified

Manuel F. Cunha Intermediate - Year 1

East Palo Alto High Charter

East Palo Alto High Charter - Year 1

Garfield Elementary Charter

Garfield Elementary Charter - Year 4

La Honda-Pescadero Unified

Pescadero Elementary - Year 1

Ravenswood City Elementary

Belle Haven Elementary - Year 2

Cesar Chavez Elementary - Year 4

Edison-Brentwood Academy - Year 2

Forty-Niner Academy - Year 1

Green Oaks Kindergarten - Year 2

Willow Oaks Elementary - Year 1

Redwood City Elementary

Fair Oaks Elementary - Year 4

Taft Elementary - Year 3

San Mateo Union High

San Mateo High - Year 2

San Mateo-Foster City Elementary

Bayside Middle - Year 2

Albion H. Horrall Elementary - Year 1

Turnbull Learning Academy - Year 4

Sequoia Union High

District overall - Year 1

Menlo-Atherton - Year 3

Sequoia High - Year 1

*Now closed