> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # S, A, M, O, H, I equals six new high schools in city - URL: https://www.smdp.com/s-a-m-o-h-i-equals-six-new-high-schools-in-city/ - Published: 2003-01-03T16:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T01:15:43.000Z - Author: Carolyn Sackariason - Tags: Education, Santa Monica, #archive-import *Samohi moving towards personalized education* Santa Monica will have six new high schools this fall. Except they’ll all be under the guise of Santa Monica High School and on the same campus. Samohi is following a national trend of high school reform that involves redesigning large campuses with the goal of giving students a better education. Studies have shown that size does matter when it comes to education. Large, impersonal schools don’t offer quality education like small ones do, school officials say. By redesigning large campuses into smaller, individual ones, schools have higher attendance rates, higher grade point averages, lower dropout rates and students and teachers report being more satisfied with the experience, studies show. Samohi currently has about 3,500 students and, as a result, class sizes are so large that students don’t get the personalized education that smaller schools offer, administrators say. That’s why plans are underway to separate Samohi into six “houses” that will each have 25 teachers educating about 500 students. Each house will have a different name — “S” “A” “M” “O” “H” “I” to keep them distinct from one another. “We wanted it to be symbolic,” said Ruth Esseln, Samohi’s 10th grade principal, who is helping spearhead the redesign project. When students in ninth and 10th grades show up for class next school year, they will be assigned to one of the houses, where they will stay for the remainder of their high school careers. Administrators say they aren’t sure how 11th and 12th grades will be fit into the redesign. “We will work grades in over a one-, two-or three-year plan to make sure it’s done well,” Esseln said. The campus will be reconfigured so each house uses the same space yearlong. Some programs like physical education and science may still be universal for all students because facilities such as labs and gymnasiums can’t be moved. It’s still unclear how students and teachers will be selected for their houses, but administrators say they plan to make them balanced. “We want six strong schools that are ethnically balanced,” Esseln said. “We want to make sure there are a variety of interests in each one, and we are going to do everything we can to keep that diversity.” Although the redesign concept for Samohi has been in the works for a decade, no plan had ever been devised until now. A 33-person committee comprised of teachers, parents and administrators worked over the past few months in coming up with the redesign. It will officially be presented on Jan. 14 to the public, and beginning in February, Samohi staff will meet as if they are in their own houses. The plan was given to teachers last month to get their thoughts on what’s been laid out. Parents and students are beginning to understand how the redesign will affect them when teachers and administrators discuss the plan with them. “A lot of parents want to know how their kids will benefit,” Esseln said. “People have a lot of questions, and we are getting fantastic questions from parents. In general, parents are really excited, and the kids are still figuring out what the redesign means for them... some are concerned that it will be like middle school.” But administrators say each house will operate just like any high school — they will have their own curriculum, and a principal and the teachers will work in teams, which will allow them to communicate better than they do now, Esseln said. “Working as a team, you have the power to do problem solving so much better,” she said. “And, hopefully, they will get to know the students better. We are trying to offset the negative effects of large class sizes.” The houses won’t compete with each other, but will have separate programs like individual student councils that will feed into the main student council, said Samohi Principal Ilene Straus. By focusing on more individualized education for each student, Straus hopes to close the achievement gap that is widespread in large high schools. Graduation requirements also will likely change, she said. For example, students will be required to take three years of math instead of two, and foreign language requirements will become more rigorous. “We’re trying to get kids prepared for the world,” Straus said. “Parents are pretty excited about the chance to make it better and trying to make large schools work better.” Dozens of high schools around the country have redesigned their campuses. Administrators, teachers, parents and students at those schools say the change has been positive. A 2001 U.S. Department of Education report concludes that students in small schools perform better, attend more regularly, have better relationships with their teachers and exude more positive social behavior. Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Superintendent John Deasy said he doesn’t anticipate the redesign to cost much more than what it currently takes to operate Samohi. However, some private companies may donate toward the plan-ning effort. “We are engaging with two substantial funders,” Deasy said. “Nothing is committed yet, but it would be a substantial help.” The money would be used to lower class sizes, increase professional development and provide opportunities for student externships and internships. Grants also are available and Samohi plans to apply for them. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is supporting high school reform efforts in communities throughout the country by issuing grants to schools that want to redesign. Two and a half years ago, Manuel High School in Denver split into three smaller schools that share the same building. Over five years, the school will receive $1 million in grants, including $500,000 from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Its division has attracted national attention in an education environment where high school redesigns are becoming the norm. Manuel has reported that its students and staff got to know each other better and test scores have risen since it redesigned the campus. According to the Bill and Melinda Gate Foundation Web site, gatesfounda-tion.org, the problem with large high schools is that that they are too impersonal. High schools have doubled in size in the last generation resulting in overcrowding and reduced interaction between students and teachers, according to the foundation. Large high schools also offer disconnected courses with little guidance to students, and most teachers see more than 150 students a day, the foundation’s Web site says. Large high schools also have low expectations — only one in four to six high schools actually prepares students for college, according to the foundation. “It’s the nature of large schools,” Straus said. “It’s no one’s fault, it’s just how it’s designed right now.” Samohi administrators agree with the Gates foundation that small high schools offer an environment where students feel less alienated and tend to be more engaged in school activities. Small schools also create professional learning communities where teachers have the opportunity to work collectively to improve their curriculum. “It’s what is best for kids,” Ruth Esseln said. “We want to create a structure where people know each other well, both teachers and students, and we can do a better job of teaching the standards. “We want our kids to be challenged,” she added. *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 3, 2003.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/010303.pdf?ref=smdp.com)