Martha Miller is Committed to Increasing Graduation and College Preparation Rates

Research clearly indicates that high school dropouts have an extremely high probability of living a life characterized by dependence on public assistance or incarceration or both. I dont want that outcome for any child, let alone one out of every four. According to the most recent data from the California Dept. of Education, the Kern High School District graduation rate for the 2007-08 school year was 77.4 percent. That means about one in about every four students are not graduating from high school with their class. That is unacceptable. This is like telling a mother that three of her four children are going to do well in life, but the fourth wont and then asking her to accept it. I cant accept it.

On the other hand, in the book Creating an Opportunity Society, by researchers Ron Haskins and Isabel Sawhill, the authors state, individuals who finish high school, work full time and marry before having children are virtually guaranteed a place in the middle class. Furthermore, they write, Good jobs are now usually based on knowledge, in turn, has made education and training the motor of both economic mobility and the American economy. For most Americans the path to economic success lies through the schoolhouse door.

Kern High School District administrators have invested considerable time and resources toward fostering on time graduation for more students. Their efforts have resulted in some recent improvement. I am confident more improvement is ahead. I am not going to try to win votes by scapegoating educators, blaming them for disappointing indicators such as graduation rate. I know just how committed our educators our teachers and administrators are to student achievement. On time graduation is a complex problem that includes factors beyond the schools reach. This is clearly evident in the state graduation rate for 2007-08 of 80.2 percent. Statewide, one in five students do not graduate with their class. This is a state and local problem. As Trustee I would advocate that the first priority of the Boards time and decision making be improved on time graduation rate. There can be no denying that programs and services to foster improved on time graduation present a considerable financial challenge to the District. Remediation, tutorial, counseling and other services to address the needs of struggling students are costly. As a Trustee, my goal would be to ensure that Board time and attention be focused on increasing the availability of funding for such programs.

It is also clear from a look at California Dept. of Education statistics that not enough District students are graduating prepared to succeed in college. This is evident in the percentage of students who graduate having passed the full range of classes required for entrance to a University of California or California State University system campus. According to the California Dept. of Education website data for 2007-08 school year, the most recent year for which data is available, 26.3 percent of the KHSDs graduates that year completed the UC and CSUs so-called A to G requirements. That is slightly more than one in four students who were able while in high school to pass the requirements required for entrance by Californias two major university systems. It should be noted that this problem of low A to G completion is a state wide problem. During the same year, only 33.9 percent of high school graduates completed the A to G requirements. The challenge of improved A to G completion is also complex. The A to G requirements are substantial in number. There are so many that it is difficult for a student to complete all of them under the best of circumstances. And these days, when the states annual deficit is more than $40 billion, are not the best of circumstances. The District does not have the funding to provide students much more than five periods of instruction a day. The result is students must often choose between classes that meet their A to G completion requirements and enrichment programs such as band, choir, drama and art programs. As a KHSD Trustee, my focus would be on Board attention to increasing the opportunities for students to complete the A to G requirements and enjoy a full exploration while in high school of their gifts and interests. To be relevant, the comprehensive high school experience should strongly include ample career exploration and preparation.

An additional indicator of the need to increase the academic rigor of the Districts curriculum is the relatively high percentage of students who are accepted to the states university systems but are not sufficiently academically advanced enough to take true college courses their freshman year. Officials at California State University, Bakersfield report a high percentage of incoming freshmen must take remediation courses in English and math their freshman year. This increases the time required to earn a college degree. It can also increase their college costs by thousands of dollars. Graduates of the KHSD have to take remedial courses in college because of schedule limitations resulting from the Districts financial pressures. The District has a limited number of teachers. They can teach only a limited number of classes. As a result, students can take only a limited number of courses. It is very difficult at this point for students to take valuable elective courses in such areas as Career and Technical Education in addition to those courses required for graduation. As Trustee, I would seek opportunities to increase by one the number of classes a student can take in a day, opening the way not only for enhanced college preparation studies but Career and Technical Education classes as well. Those additional opportunities would require additional funding for more teachers. The District has been an extremely responsible steward of its financial resources. The KHSDs current financial problems originated in Sacramento where legislators play politics with the education of our young people. School district trustees need to put more pressure on those politicians to ignore special interest groups and focus on the kids. As a trustee, I would go to great lengths to ensure county residents are informed of just how responsive our state and federal legislators are to the needs of our children.