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• Year 2007

Partnership is designed to help disadvantaged middle
 school students prepare for high school and graduation

SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today released this statement after the Long Beach-based California League of Middle Schools (CLMS) announced it was selected for a three-year partnership with United Way of Greater Los Angeles.

"I congratulate the California League of Middle Schools for being selected as a partner for the ‘Creating Pathways Out of Poverty’ program," O'Connell said. "As part of this program, middle school principals in Los Angeles County will have a great opportunity to participate in the new Principals to Watch Academy. The Academy will help them serve more economically disadvantaged students by analyzing their own school programs and designing improvement plans. I know the United Way has many great goals to improve education, and I am very pleased it will be working with educators to close the achievement and graduation gaps in the county."

Closing the achievement gap is a top priority of O’Connell’s. California has a disturbing and persistent achievement gap that exists between groups of students who are African American or Latino and their peers who are white and Asian. O’Connell has asked education, business, labor, and community leaders in his statewide P-16 Council to examine what is causing the gap and find ways to close it. O’Connell will also host an Achievement Gap Summit that will bring together national education stakeholders in Sacramento November 13-14 to discuss the issue.

Dr. Irvin Howard will lead the Principals to Watch Academy training sessions throughout Los Angeles County beginning this month. Howard is the state director of Schools to Watch – Taking Center Stage, a statewide program based on a national model that uses research-based criteria to identify high-performing middle schools. Since 2003, CLMS, in collaboration with the California Department of Education’s Middle and High School Improvement Office, has designated 18 Schools to Watch model middle schools throughout California. Schools to Watch principals and their leadership teams will join Howard in training those enrolled in the Principals to Watch Academy.

Research-based criteria developed by national education leaders and the California Department of Education will be used at Academy training sessions to help  principals study, compare, and identify strengths and weaknesses at each middle school. The principals will use the results to develop three-year improvement plans for their school sites that address academic excellence, developmental responsiveness, social equity, and organizational structures and processes.

"I also want to commend United Way for making the bold decision this year to direct all its resources toward reducing the entrenched poverty in Los Angeles County," added O’Connell. "The charitable organization identified educational achievement as one of three key areas in its 10-year action plan to create pathways out of poverty. By focusing on middle schools, United Way has made a commendable commitment so more students in the county have the tools necessary to succeed in high school, graduate, and earn a living wage."

The educational achievement goals of United Way of Greater Los Angeles can be found at Improving Educational Achievement [http://www.unitedwayla.org/getinformed/achieve/Pages/default.aspx] (Outside Source). For more information on the Principals to Watch partnership, please visit Principals to Watch [http://www.principalstw.org] (Outside Source). For more information about the California League of Middle Schools, please visit California League of Middle Schools [http://www.clms.net] (Outside Source). For more information on O’Connell’s Achievement Gap Summit, please visit GAP Summit - Request to Attend [http://www.sjcoe.org/summit/index.aspx] (Outside Source).