The San Mateo Union High School District serves the communities of Burlingame, Foster City, Hillsborough, Millbrae, San Bruno, and San Mateo. It consists of seven high schools: Aragon High, Burlingame High, Capuchino High, Hillsdale High, Mills High, Peninsula Continuation High, and San Mateo High. The student population is composed of the following subgroups: white (37 percent), Hispanic (31 percent), Asian (19 percent), Filipino (4 percent), Pacific Islander (5 percent), and African American (4 percent). Approximately ten percent of the students are designated as socioeconomically disadvantaged. Home languages include Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, Filipino, Tongan, Korean, Hindi, and Russian.
The mission of the San Mateo Union High School District is ". . . to provide each student with a stimulating and challenging learning environment that promotes intellectual growth, creativity, respect for self and others, and physical and mental health. The primary goal is that all students achieve their maximum potential." To that end, each of the schools offers quality education with a well-rounded curriculum and a variety of extracurricular and sports activities. District schools offer 11 advanced placement courses. The schools' specialized staff provide students with appropriate support services and programs, including Gifted and Talented Education, special education, and special classes for English learners that emphasize the goal of achieving fluency in English. Within every school credentialed library media teachers ensure that the library is an integral part of the school curriculum and that computers are available for students' use.
The English-Language arts are a key part of the core curriculum throughout the district. While some aspects of language arts instruction vary from school to school, every campus uses a core language arts textbook aligned with state standards, an extended core list of novels, and a grammar book . Class sizes range between 27 and 35 students. All freshman English and algebra classes average 20 students.
The district has implemented a comprehensive and diagnostic reading development program in grade nine and in some upper grades at all seven schools. The major components of this program include the following:
- Reading development classes (primarily in grade nine)
- Reading strategies infused throughout the curriculum
- Diagnostic assessments
Students needing extra reading support are identified at the feeder middle schools through the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test results, students' grades, attendance, and so forth; and teachers' recommendations. Identified students are provided a developmental reading class in the grade nine. Within this intervention teachers provide differentiated instruction based on the findings of one-on-one informal reading inventories.
A comprehensive professional development program provides ongoing support for reading development teachers in the grade nine program and in upper-grades classes in which curriculum is different (e.g., more emphasis on speed, particular genres, etc.) A reading consultant supports assessments and instructional strategies through classroom collaboration, model lessons, material selection, meetings, observations, and dialogues. Full-day in-service training is provided for content teachers with the ongoing support of the consultant. The program offers emergent reader strategies for teachers providing instruction to readers below the grade- four reading level (English learners, learning disabled students). Teachers of English, history, science, English as a second language, special education, and electives have participated since the program's inception in 1999. Seminars are held to collect and analyze data, and capacity-building efforts are currently under way at each school site.
Districtwide Literacy Goals
Students will:
- Understand the reading process and its application to strategies they know and need to learn.
- Have automatic word-recognition and word-analysis skills.
- Be able to use context clues, use all three cue systems, and analyze text.
- Be able to adjust reading speed to the material.
- Be successful in content classes.
- Be successful test takers.
Criteria For Identifying Students At Risk Of Below-Grade-Level Performance In Reading And Writing
At-risk students are identified at feeder middle schools through the use of the following criteria:
- Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test
- Students' grades, attendance, and so forth
- Teachers' recommendations
Content Literacy
- Good Reader charts (Each class makes a Good Reader list, which is posted in class and discussed as year proceeds.)
- Reciprocal teaching
- Direct instruction on:
- Reading process, involving the three cue systems
- Types of questions (literal and inferential)
- Main idea, including practice in the use of criteria
- Speed techniques for different types of materials
- Summarizing strategies
- Vocabulary and word study
- Self-monitoring strategies
- Close procedures
- KWL and other graphic organizers
- Concept cards and other memory and study techniques
- Literature circles
- Written responses to text
- Use of strategies across all curriculum areas
Reading Interventions
- One-on-one informal reading inventories (IRI) with miscue analysis, retelling, questioning, and retrospective miscue analysis for each student in the program
- Differentiated instruction based on IRI findings
- Ongoing assessment throughout the year
- Availability of a wide range of materials for practice
- Wide selection of adolescents' books at different reading levels and for different interests in classroom libraries
- One-on-one conferences at end of each semester and school year
- Program modification including emergent-reader strategies for classes with readers below the grade-four reading level (English learners, learning disabled students)
Districtwide Literacy Activities
- Implementation of strategies across all curriculum areas
- Credentialed library media teacher in every school
Structured Time For Independent, Student-Selected Reading
- Ongoing additions to classroom libraries to support student-selected reading
- Frequent use of the school library for checking out books
- Accountability for student-selected reading, including student book talks, presentations, journal responses, and so forth
Professional Development/Ongoing Support
- Extensive preparation of and ongoing support for reading-development teachers in the grade nine program and in upper-grades classes in which the curriculum is different (e.g., more emphasis on speed, particular genres, and so forth)
- Support of assessments and instructional strategies by reading consultant (program director) through classroom collaboration, model lessons, material selection, meetings, observations, and dialogues with the teachers
- Full-day in-service training for content teachers with the ongoing support of the consultant
- Participation by teachers of English, history, science, English as a second language, special education, and electives since program's inception in 1999
- Seminars that are held to collect and analyze data
- Beginning capacity building at school sites to eventually replace consultant/program director services
Library Media Program
- Credentialed library media teacher in every school
- Library an integral part of the curriculum at every school
- Computers available for students' use
Other Key Factors In The Success Of This Program Are:
- District support, both moral and financial
- Energy, enthusiasm, and skill of the reading development teachers
Evidence Of Success
- San Mateo Union High School District has an Academic Performance Index (API) of 736, the highest of all high school districts and individual high schools reported in San Mateo County.
- Five of six comprehensive high schools achieved gains, ranging from 24 to 53 points, on the 2002-03 API; the sixth's API has not yet been certified.
- All subgroups at the five high schools (see above) met API subgroup targets.
- The district has achieved a significant rise in reading test scores on the Gates-MacGinitie and miscue analysis.
- The district is seeing a gradual trend toward a higher correlation between the standardized Gates-MacGinitie and the Informal Reading Inventory scores.
- At Peninsula Continuation High School, the percentage of students achieving above the grade-seven level on the Informal Reading Inventory increased from 51 percent in spring 2002 to 75 percent in spring 2003.
- A rise in the overall grade-point averages of participating students has occurred.
- Improvement in students' attitude toward reading in general is shown in the following sample comments:
- "I never read a book before."
- "I always hated reading. I thought it was boring; now I don't feel that way."
- "I used to just read the words, but I couldn't understand. Now I know what's going on."
- Reading-development teachers are better able to differentiate instruction based on more definitive diagnostic data from retrospective miscue analysis.
- Reading-development teachers are pleased with the wide range of strategies and materials.
- Students are beginning to hear strategy language in other content classes and are making connections with prior learning in reading classes.
For more information contact:
Mark Avelar, Associate Superintendent
San Mateo Union High School District
650-558-2205
mavelar@smuhsd.k12.ca.us
Joanne Rossi, Consultant
650-570-5699
joanrossi@aol.com
