Embattled houses get inspection
SAMOHI — The division of Santa Monica High School into six smaller schools, or houses, has helped raise test scores and foster stronger relationships between teachers and their students, but the full benefits of the redesign have not been realized because of an increase in class sizes, according to an annual report on the house system released Thursday.
The Samohi Committee On Redesign Efficacy, or SCORE, which is comprised of teachers and administrators at the high school, analyzed standardized test scores, grade point averages, faculty and parent surveys, and reports by independent evaluators.
The result: Teachers in classes with 35 or more students are not able to devote as much time as they would like to each student, which can lead to some low-performing kids falling through the cracks.
The larger class sizes, as well as overcrowding at Samohi, have also contributed to a sense of isolation and division on campus. Where the ideal house size is 400 students or less, Samohi’s six houses each serve more than 550 students, all of whom are still going to school at one large campus and must travel outside of their houses for several of their classes. In redesign, it is recommended that smaller schools created be located apart from one another instead of being grouped together on one campus, the SCORE report said.
Redesign has also contributed to an increase in the segregation of certain groups of students, in particular those that perform well and those who are struggling.
“We have a limited number of teachers for each subject in each house. This coupled with rigid scheduling blocks isolates struggling students into racially segregated classes,” English teacher Rob Thais, a member of the SCORE committee, told school board members Thursday night during a meeting at Samohi’s Barnum Hall. “This is not done intentionally … but is a result of the current structure of redesign.”
The meeting was held at the auditorium to accommodate what was expected to be a large crowd. Around 200 parents and students attended, many of whom spoke publicly for and against redesign and the current leadership at Samohi. The campus and its principal, Ilene Straus, have been a popular discussion topic lately as supporters and opponents of redesign geared up for the SCORE report, many hoping to convince the school board to either stick with the house system and Straus, or abandon both and revert back to a traditional organizational structure.
Many had harsh words for redesign and Straus, who announced that she will be leaving Samohi at the end of the school year and possibly accept a position within the school district’s central office. Those who were the most critical were the students, some of whom said they did not receive what was promised under redesign, such as smaller classes, more communication with teachers and a stronger sense of community.
“Within the house system there are conflicts in discipline, with some students receiving harsher punishments than others for the same offense,” said Samohi student Kenna Stout.“There is also a feeling of a lack of respect for students (by the administration) … and we’ve felt as if our opinions have been discarded. Many just gave up.”
Supporters of the house system asked school board members to “stay the course” and not be so quick to abandon redesign, especially since it is only in its fourth year of implementation. Many said their children have benefited tremendously from the house system as they have been able to cultivate stronger ties to counselors, teachers and house principals. “(My husband and I) were not thrilled with our daughter’s decision to attend Samohi and redesign was the reason,” said F.E. Young, an art instructor at John Adams Middle School.“Now we see the house system has worked. Our daughter knows her counselors and principal, and her counselors and principal know her. We’ve made it a point to get to know them also. That’s not to say the house system is without problems … but I think we’re headed in the right direction.”
For the most part, school board members agreed with Young and pledged to give redesign more time. However, there were requests for district staff to come back to the board with more detailed information on what it would take to implement recommendations made by the SCORE committee.
Teachers recommended short-and long-term solutions, including creating more opportunities for teachers to work together in identifying struggling students and offer them one-on-one instruction; creating study groups to conduct research on how to address disparity and feelings of segregation amongst students; reducing Samohi’s population by 1,000 students; and opening two or three small high schools separate from Samohi.
“We want to re-institute class size reduction in the ninth and tenth grade English and Geometry courses,” Thais said.
In the first year of redesign, class sizes in ninth grade English and Math classes hovered around 20 students for every teacher. With the loss of state funding, that number jumped to 35 students per teacher, with some classes approaching 40 students this school year, SCORE members said.
The increase in class sizes demonstrates one of the greatest challenges for the district — money. To allow teachers the time to collaborate and offer tutoring sessions for troubled students, the district has to find the funding to pay for it. The same goes for reducing class sizes, which would require the hiring of more teachers and the construction of new facilities to accommodate the space needed to host more classes.
“Clearly, (reducing class size) is something that we would like to see and there is no question that the class size increase at Santa Monica High School — because of a loss of funding — has been quite impactful on teachers. There’s no question about it,” said school board president Julia Brownley. “School districts across the state have been operating at bare bones levels. We have been fortunate enough, with our agreement with the city and with the help of our parents, to raise enough money to keep some of the great things about this district, such as our music programs, art classes. Those are things we do not want to lose.
“But with that we’ve had to cut back on class size reduction, and the only way we can get back to smaller classes is to get more funding from the state.”
That’s problematic, said Harry Keiley, president of the Santa Monica-Malibu Classroom Teachers Association. With the state still recovering from an economic recession three years ago, funding for public education has dropped considerably. The governor has also suspended some funding mandates under Proposition 89, which makes it harder for school districts to cope, Keiley said.
“Our funding is really at the whim of the state’s economy,” Keiley said.“It’s like a roller coaster. In good economic times, we see more money. In bad times, less. Our funding is based on a system that is basically inadequate to provide the type of learning environment that students and teachers deserve, particularly at a time when more is being asked of us.”
The SCORE committee suggested the district apply for federal grants to help fund class size reduction, however, that is seen as being only a “drop in the bucket”when looking at the bigger picture, which must include a new high school in Santa Monica.
“Redesign is really just a Band-Aid,” said school board member Oscar de la Torre.“We are in the process of developing the facilities master plan so we are looking into the possibilities of making that happen. The long-term solution (to overcrowding) is building a new high school.”
Putting challenges aside, the SCORE report found that redesign has contributed significantly to faculty “feeling appreciated and a sense of nearness and support by the house principals.” Faculty also feels strongly supported by advisors, while new teachers said they felt welcomed and supported by their teacher leaders.
Students have also become more involved in activities on campus, and their performance on standardized tests has improved, along with passing rates for the California High School Exit Exam, which all students must pass if they want to receive a diploma upon graduation, the report said.
In all, redesign seems to be working, the SCORE committee concluded, but much more still needs to be done to address areas of concern. The house system may never be truly effective in its current form and may need to evolve over time to fit the needs of the students and faculty. More money is also needed.
“It will take more than sweat to eliminate the achievement gap (between students who excel and those who are struggling), and believe me, we’ve sweated a lot,” said Eva Mayoral, I House principal. “We need (the school board’s) support. The students need your support.”
“It will take more than sweat to eliminate the achievement gap (between students who excel and those who are struggling), and believe me, we’ve sweated a lot. We need (the school board’s) support. The students need your support.” — EVA MAYORAL I HOUSE PRINCIPAL
District staff is expected to report back to the school board this month regarding questions members had about funding and class size reduction. There is hope that enough money can be found to fund some of the recommendations made by SCORE, including tutoring classes and mentoring, as well as study groups that can measure other factors besides academics, such as student-to-student relations.
“There has obviously been a rupture because of redesign and, by statements made (Thursday), because of failed leadership and that rupture has to do with relationships,” de la Torre said.“We need to find a way to unify the campus and improve school climate and address the culture of the school and how we can increase school spirit and unify the students that have been in conflict.
“It’s really about building better relationships between everyone on campus.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 3, 2006. Read the original PDF.