Mendocino County Grand Jury
• 2005-2006
Country Schools Are Alive and Well Three Rural Districts in Mendocino County February 21, 2006
⚠️ Aviso de traducción: Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Note: Missing finding numbers detected: F19
Findings and Recommendations 27 findings
F1
The three surveyed rural districts have a total enrollment of approximately 1,270 students; all offer pre-school programs.
No recommendations for this finding
F2
The relatively small school populations enable school personnel to recognize and know virtually all their students.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
the Leggett Valley USD continue to foster its supportive environment and knowledgeable attention to each individual. (Common finding 2)
F3
Meeting State proficiency standards is the first concern of principals and, therefore, teachers.
No recommendations for this finding
F4
The Average Daily Attendance (ADA) figures seem relatively stable and are perhaps increasing.
No recommendations for this finding
F5
The vast majority of students are bused to and from these rural schools.
No recommendations for this finding
F6
Gang activity, graffiti and vandalism are not major problems in the surveyed schools. Mendocino County Grand Jury 7. An enforced dress code for students seems to have solved several problems; it has eliminated gang attire worn by “wannabes” and appears to promote positive student behavior.
No recommendations for this finding
F7
The libraries in the AVUSD schools are staffed on a full-time basis and are open before and after school.
No recommendations for this finding
F8
Negative incidents between ethnic groups are minimal, as is fighting on campus.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
Anderson Valley USD be used as a model for its accepting bicultural environment and its program in which virtually all students of various ethnic backgrounds become bilingual before graduation. (Common
F9
Drug-related incidents are minimal.
No recommendations for this finding
F10
There is no known student use of meth on these campuses.
No recommendations for this finding
F11
Competitive sports are universally popular; a high percentage of students in grades seven through twelve are involved in at least one school sport.
No recommendations for this finding
F12
Transiency within the student population during the school year adversely affects the learning process.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
the AVUSD, proud of success achieved in attracting and retaining Spanish-speaking students, be afforded the additional resources needed to assist and support this population. (Common findings 3,12, School
F13
Cases of autism are rising, especially in preschool and primary grades.
No recommendations for this finding
F14
Important news and announcements are sent home to parents in both English and Spanish.
No recommendations for this finding
F15
All schools have computer labs available to both elementary and secondary students; all classrooms contain at least one computer, usually more.
No recommendations for this finding
F16
All schools offer cafeteria and food service, although staffing and student participation in preparation and service vary from school to school.
No recommendations for this finding
F17
All schools have stocked and staffed libraries, although hours, materials and levels of staff certification differ from school to school.
No recommendations for this finding
F18
Mendocino County Office of Education (MCOE) provides legal and consulting services to the districts, financial services including planning, scholarship and college testing information, as well as opportunities for site administrators to meet and confer on a regular basis. SCHOOL FINDINGS Anderson Valley Unified School District 1. Anderson Valley Unified School District (AVUSD) has been a stable, flourishing educational system for many years at both the elementary and secondary levels; enrollment is presently approximately 590 students.
No recommendations for this finding
F20
Building on the Anderson Valley Personal Learning Plan model, Pt. Arena has compiled literacy standards and benchmarks for their K through 12 students in the READING WRITING SPEAKING plan, tailored specifically to the district’s population.
No recommendations for this finding
F21
Pt. Arena High School offers the AVID program for all eligible students.
No recommendations for this finding
F22
Pt. Arena High School offers students the opportunity, during regularly scheduled class time, to take AP classes online.
No recommendations for this finding
F23
Through a combination of construction bonds and state funding, the dilapidated secondary school plant will soon be totally replaced; many new buildings are already in use.
Related Recommendations (2)
R4
those high school students in Leggett Valley who attend the alternative education program be housed in a classroom that is as inviting as those of their fellow students. (School finding 17)
R5
MCOE and the Pt. Arena community do everything possible to support and continue the improvement within the Pt. Arena Joint Union High School District and Arena Unified Elementary School District; the dramatic decrease in turnover of trustees, administrators, teachers and students is clearly a positive turnaround in the health of these districts. (Common
F24
Pacific Community High School, a charter school, shares the campus and facilities of Pt. Arena High School; Pacific Community co-enrolls in sports activities with Pt. Arena.
No recommendations for this finding
F25
The two Pt. Arena districts have adapted the “Blended Model” program to meet the educational needs of all students. Using individualized materials within math and language arts Learning Centers, the Blended Program’s goal is to raise all student achievement to grade level and beyond.
No recommendations for this finding
F26
Pt. Arena HS has a spacious, well-stocked library; certified staff is available three days a week. However, the band practices regularly in the center of the room; music stands and chairs, several instruments, amplifiers and other equipment are located between the stacks and the reading area.
Related Recommendations (1)
R6
the Pt. Arena JUHSD, justifiably proud of its new buildings, not overlook the obvious: a library should be reserved for reading and research, not set up for regular band practice. (School finding 26) Comments “Schools should be the most beautiful structures in town”. This statement by a Mendocino County school administrator was meant literally, but its deeper meaning is surely felt by students, parents and staff of the three districts surveyed by the 2005-2006 Grand Jury. In a County notorious for its drug tolerance and availability, there seems small evidence that hard drug use or genuine gang activity has gained a foothold in the elementary and secondary schools of Anderson Valley, Leggett and Pt. Arena. Alcohol and marijuana use on school sites is not unknown but uncommon. Instead, the primary problem seems to be poverty: 75 to 80% of the students in the districts surveyed are on the free or reduced fee breakfast and lunch program. Tied to low income and high Hispanic and Native American populations in two of the schools is a second problem: high tranciency rates. Affordable housing and long term, adequately compensated employment are hard to find in rural Mendocino. When circumstances become difficult, families move on, disrupting the education of their children. Compounding this problem, a growing school population speaking English as a second language and increasing evidence of severe language impairment in pre- K and primary children make meeting the State Literacy Requirements a formidable task. In spite of this, the three rural districts are in so many ways a success story. An inordinate percentage of graduates attend two and four year colleges, many on well-earned scholarships. A huge percentage of the population is bussed to their schools: they arrive, eat breakfast, and attend classes, most with enthusiasm and a positive attitude. A small but dedicated group of parents work for and within each school district for the benefit of all students. Most importantly, these rural districts boast caring, competent staff (several of them former students), strict but not unreasonable regulations, and a personal, nurturing educational environment that larger urban and suburban schools simply cannot duplicate. The country schoolhouse may be wired for the Internet, but the educational family still exists for youth in the far corners of Mendocino.
F27
Roughly 80% of the Pt. Arena High School graduates attend a two or four year college.
No recommendations for this finding
F28
The two Pt. Arena districts have an official Community Safety Committee which includes a local EMT, a transportation representative, a cafeteria representative, a Board trustee, the school principals and a charter school representative.
No recommendations for this finding
Comments 1
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CO1“Schools should be the most beautiful structures in town”. This statement by a Mendocino County school administrator was meant literally, but its deeper meaning is surely felt by students, parents and staff of the three districts surveyed by the 2005-2006 Grand Jury. In a County notorious for its drug tolerance and availability, there seems small evidence that hard drug use or genuine gang activity has gained a foothold in the elementary and secondary schools of Anderson Valley, Leggett and Pt. Arena. Alcohol and marijuana use on school sites is not unknown but uncommon. Instead, the primary problem seems to be poverty: 75 to 80% of the students in the districts surveyed are on the free or reduced fee breakfast and lunch program. Tied to low income and high Hispanic and Native American populations in two of the schools is a second problem: high tranciency rates. Affordable housing and long term, adequately compensated employment are hard to find in rural Mendocino. When circumstances become difficult, families move on, disrupting the education of their children. Compounding this problem, a growing school population speaking English as a second language and increasing evidence of severe language impairment in pre- K and primary children make meeting the State Literacy Requirements a formidable task. In spite of this, the three rural districts are in so many ways a success story. An inordinate percentage of graduates attend two and four year colleges, many on Mendocino County Grand Jury Page 5 of 6 well-earned scholarships. A huge percentage of the population is bussed to their schools: they arrive, eat breakfast, and attend classes, most with enthusiasm and a positive attitude. A small but dedicated group of parents work for and within each school district for the benefit of all students. Most importantly, these rural districts boast caring, competent staff (several of them former students), strict but not unreasonable regulations, and a personal, nurturing educational environment that larger urban and suburban schools simply cannot duplicate. The country schoolhouse may be wired for the Internet, but the educational family still exists for youth in the far corners of Mendocino.