PreK-12 Education Action Plan

Challenge

Most indicators show student achievement in the San Joaquin Valley lagging behind the state as a whole.

The Academic Performance Index (API) is an indicator of a school’s level of performance. Nearly one-third of students in the San Joaquin Valley (235,218 children) attend schools that rank in the bottom 20% of the API. With few exceptions, student achievement in the San Joaquin Valley is lower than state averages as measured by the California Standards Tests (CST), the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) and schools making Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).

The San Joaquin Valley is home to a disproportionately large share of the migrant workforce. A large proportion of immigrants in the region that face language and cultural barriers are associated with this workforce. These factors lead to the San Joaquin Valley having a significant English learner (EL) population of 25.6%

San Joaquin Valley counties have lower percentages of children testing “proficient” or “advanced” across all grade levels in English language arts and math than those in the state as a whole.

California ranks 40th among the states in the percentage of high school graduates going directly to college, and the number is declining. For the 2003-04 school year, all eight counties in the San Joaquin Valley were below the statewide figure for high school graduates who had completed courses required for admission into the University of California and California State University systems.

Indicators

• Increase in student reading proficiency at or above grade levels
• Increase in high school graduation rates
• Decrease in high school dropout rates
• Increase in college-bound rates
• Decrease in number of low-performing schools
• Increase in the rates of high school graduates completing courses for college admission and in school-to-career preparedness
• Increase in computer literacy rates and school-to-career preparedness
• Decrease in juvenile drug- and alcohol-related arrests

Goals and Objectives

Goal 1: Increase the achievement level of students, schools and school districts in the San Joaquin Valley.

Objective A: Implement a school and district support system through county offices of education.
Objective B: Implement a curricular and instructional program to ensure all children are able to read at or above grade level.
Objective C: Provide school choice, intra-district and inter-district options consistent with state and federal law.
Objective D: Establish an executive leadership academy to train principals of low-performing schools in “turnaround” educational and management services.
Objective E: Coordinate and integrate health and human services organized around school attendance boundaries.

Goal 2: Develop a college-going culture in the San Joaquin Valley

Objective A: Support collaboration between school districts and the community colleges, CSU and UC systems.
Objective B: Increase the rates of high school graduates completing courses for college admission.

Goal 3: Implement a computer literacy initiative for PreK-12 students aligned with community college curriculum.

Goal 4: Implement research-based programs to reduce substance abuse, including voluntary drug testing.

Objective A: Implement a substance abuse program.
Objective B: Coordinate and integrate health and human services organized around school attendance boundaries.

Additional Goal: Align career technical education to target industry clusters.