Testing times at
Meiners Oaks School
By Bret Bradigan

Because a total of four students did not take tests designed to measure their progress - one student in 2002 and three in 2003 - Meiners Oaks Elementary School failed to meet the 95 percent participation rate required by the No Child Left Behind Act and has been designated a "Program Improvement" school.

That means the school - despite scores on its annual tests that cleared the bar for its crucial Average Yearly Progress - must take certain steps to get off the list during the next five years or risk a range of sanctions starting with revising the school plan and ending with state takeover.
Ojai Unified School District administrators, presenting the results of a variety of test scores from the past school year, said they plan to appeal the designation, noting that their records show 177 students took the tests, not the 164 shown on the AYP scoring - putting the school comfortably ahead of its 95 percent requirement.

Part of the problem reaching that 95 percent was due to special education students, said Jarice Butterfield, OUSD assistant superintendent, who said many parents "didn't want their child tested," including "13 or 14 special education students not taking the CAPA," a test designed to measure life skills, rather than academic achievement, in which students are tested at the level of their functioning, rather than by grade level.

A conflict arises between the federal Average Yearly Progress program that requires 95 percent participation and the state, which allows parents to opt out of having their students tested, said Jim Berube, also a district assistant superintendent, who teamed up with Butterfield on the presentation.

Generally, they noted, the Ojai Unified School District outperformed their peers at both county and state levels, except in isolated areas. All told, students took an alphabet soup of acronym-abundant tests, such as STAR, CST, CAPA, AP and SABE. The results of these tests are compiled and used to measure the school's progress.

Fifth graders fell short of state averages on the California Standardized Test, with 35 percent testing at proficient level or better, and 35 percent exceeding that mark at the state level. Those same fifth graders, however, did better than the state on English Language Arts scores. Most CST trends were up across the board, with the exception of the fifth-grade math scores, third-graders in English Language Arts and eighth-grade English Language Arts.

And more and more district students are taking the high road, with participation rates, and pass rates, improving in Advanced Placement tests at Nordhoff School. In 1995, there were 78 students signed up for the college-level classes. In 2003, 184 students were signed up. Pass rates have fluctuated from 60 percent in 1996 to 84 percent in 1998. In 2003, the pass rate was 70 percent.

Board member Dr. Pauline Mercado expressed concern that Meiners Oaks Elementary School was being unfairly vilified. "I do have some problem with being designated the same as schools with low test scores. It doesn't make sense."

The issue brought to fore the only board dispute of the night, when board member Bob Unruhe said that the proliferation of testing was a distraction from teaching. "Schools are becoming factories, students are becoming test-taking machines, and teachers testing technicians."
Board member Kathi Smith said, "I totally disagree with everything you just said," noting that in her experience as a parent of district students, plenty of good teaching, and learning, was occurring.

The meeting, presided over by Rikki Horne in the absence of Tim Peddicord, got started on a positive tone, with two presentations.
In the first, six students from Nordhoff High School - Leticia Ortiz, Claudia Martinez, XXXXXX - who were selected as Wallis Annenberg Scholars at the University of Southern California - spoke about their month-long seminars in which they took college courses and lived as full-time students.

Counselor Janice McCormick proudly noted that all six received As and Bs in their courses, qualifying them for a stipend and a laptop computer. The students, who briefly spoke to the board about the program, shared dorm space with 32 other scholars from around the country and took classes in everything from parliamentary procedure to robotic design. One student said the experience changed her mind about attending Ventura College and formed her desire to attend a four-year university after graduation.

Smith told McCormick, "Ojai's very proud of the little group you got here."

Next up was Dr. Marty Fujita, who spoke about the debut at Topa Topa Elementary of the "Food for Thought" Healthy Schools Project, in which a group of 13 parents, nutritionists, teachers and farmers have brought to the school a "garden-based learning program." The program includes a salad bar at the school on Fridays, stocked with fresh produce, locally grown. Fujita said the program was patterned after Bay Area whole foods promoter Alice Waters' and her idea of an "edible schoolyard" where children learn nutrition and good eating habits. Eventually, the group would like "Food for Thought" to cover its costs.

Unruhe said he had had a Friday lunch at Topa Topa. "It was a delicious lunch and kids were really excited about it," he said.
Jim Churchill, a local farmer and partner of the project with the Community Alliance for Family Farmers, said early indications are that kids eat 20 percent more often on salad bar days. The goal, he said, is to go from 220 students eating lunch in the cafeteria on average, to 300 with another 60 parents and adults on those designated days.

Heidi Whitman, who, in addition to serving on that "Food for Thought" project, was representing the Ojai Educational Foundation, said that the grant deadline for this school year was coming up on Sept. 26. The OEF donated $14,000 last year for 17 teachers.

Kevin Horswell, a senior at Nordhoff High School, got off to an energetic start in his first meeting as student representative. Besides commenting, from a students' point of view, on nearly every issue before the board, he gave a detailed report on student activities. Thanking the board for the opportunity, he said, "You are actual people you can interact with, and a lot of students don't get that."

Among the updates and information presented, he said students wanted a ping-pong table for lunch period recreation, and that they were making plans to set up a student center in the old administration as soon as the $6.5 million construction project was complete and the administration was moved into their new quarters. He also said that the fireworks show was returning for this year's Homecoming Game, though next year, because of the new track, no floats would be allowed after this year.

In other business, a number of agenda items were breezed through, including modifications to the Nordhoff construction project, letters of intent for bargaining with employee representatives, funding the Gifted and Talented program for $26,000 and accepted two generous donations - one for $12,000 from Lyn Chernis and Dr. Robert Morris for the College and Career Center at Nordhoff, and $7,500 from Charlotte Bronstein for anti-bias training. Horne made note of the continuing generosity of the donors, and said it was her privilege to spend time every day with Bronstein, a long-time school supporter who is extremely ill.

The three-hour meeting concluded with a brief report from Superintendent Dr. Tim Baird. He said that the district managed to come up with enough money to spare elementary physical education classes, thereby eliminating the necessity for teachers to take an unpaid furlough. He also said that enrollment was down 111 students from last year, but that was less of a decline than predicted, and that the installation of the new phone system was complete and that new staff directories would be soon distributed.

© 2003 The Ojai Valley News

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