Local charter schools stay positive with state grades
Editor’s note: This story is one in a series of six looking at how Yuma County school districts performed on the Arizona State Board of Education’s A-F letter grades. This story examines Yuma charter schools.
Each year at the direction of the Arizona Department of Education, the Arizona State Board of Education releases the A-F letter grades of the previous school year.
Released statewide on Nov. 1, the 2018-2019 letter grades are an annual academic achievement profile that measures student academic growth; proficiency in English language arts, math and science, proficiency and academic growth of English Language Learners; for elementary students, indicators of readiness for success in high school; for high school students, indicators of readiness for success in a career or higher education; and high school graduation rates.
AmeriSchools’ North and South campuses both finished 2018-2019 testing on a high note, with the North campus earning an ‘A’ and the South campus not far behind with a ‘B.’
This accomplishment was particularly significant for the South campus, which was a ‘D’ school the previous year. According to Coordinator for Instruction Linda McCormack, the jump was the result of “a tremendous amount of work” poured into tutoring sessions and breaking into small groups during the school day to focus on areas in which the campus had opportunities to grow.
McCormack said both campuses have also worked to change students’ mindsets about asking questions.
“We tell our students that it’s OK to ask questions, that admitting they don’t understand something actually helps their classmates because they’re brave enough to raise their hand and say, ‘I don’t get it,’” McCormack said.
In upcoming testing, McCormack hopes to see both campuses maintain their growth and move forward, per
haps with South campus achieving an ‘A’ and North campus rising to the “number one” score in the county.
AZTEC High School fared an ‘F’ in 2018-2019 testing and according to Principal Steve Pallack, “that’s OK.”
Several of the Arizona Department of Education’s measurements of academic growth and proficiency are not measured at AZTEC – at least not in the traditional sense. With such a fluid student population and absence of Advanced Placement classes, Pallack says it’s unlikely that AZTEC will ever score higher than a ‘D.’
“It’s like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole,” Pallack said. “Our standards for student success here at AZTEC don’t align with the state’s, and that’s OK. Test scores don’t reflect success at all here at AZTEC.”
The school places a strong emphasis on opportunity and focuses on how to help students walk away with “something they can use to be successful citizens.” According to Pallack, students who “might otherwise fall through the cracks” learn how to create a résumé, apply for jobs and prepare for a successful interview. And ac
cording to Pallack, AZTEC students have prospered in this approach. Students who doubted they’d ever get a job are now full-time employees, and some have been recognized by Arizona Western College (AWC) as “Students of the Month.”
“It’s the small successes that are big deals to us,” Pallack said.
To stay true to its mission to help students find opportunities for success after high school, AZTEC partners with AWC to offer dual enrollment courses on campus, including construction and culinary. AZTEC and AWC are also partnering to start a CTE program at AZTEC – and according to Pallack, this will be the first club of any kind on their campus.
Desert View Academy earned an “A” for the 20182019 school year. Missing the grade by “just a hair” the year before, Principal Deb Weigel is happy to see her students’ efforts pay off.
“It’s a result of our students, staff and parents working together to accomplish a common goal,” Weigel said. “My hope and desire for the future is that we will demonstrate growth by continuing to do our best every day, not just on test days.”
Harvest Preparatory Academy’s Yuma campus scored a ‘C’ for the 2018-2019 academic year – the first year that students completed their testing on electron
ic devices. According to Executive Director Deborah Ybarra, it’s highly probable that this change, along with teacher turnover and campus expansions, impacted the year’s score, though the data received from the Arizona Department of Education did indicate academic growth.
To prepare for upcoming testing in the spring, students are participating in “Eagle Hour” every day, where they break into small groups to receive more specialized instruction. Through the groups, additional programs like AVID and integrated reading and math technologies are provided, Ybarra says, it’s exciting to see students taking ownership of their education as they understand the necessity of it.
“Our goal is to provide the highest level of opportunity possible to our students,” Ybarra said. “Helping students find motivation is one of the nuggets of education. I’m believing in Yuma as a whole and hoping we all can learn from each other in these areas.”
Jose Yepez Learning Center, a PPEP TEC High School campus, also scored a ‘ C’ for 2018-2019. According to Superintendent Wayne Tucker, the learning center was very close to earning a ‘B,’ and adjusting to a newly-implemented CCRI (College and Career Readiness Indica
tors) learning model may have been a factor. As an alternative school, another factor is state testing’s traditional model for accountability, which Tucker said isn’t an appropriate metric for students who are at risk of dropping out.
“The graduation rate for the state of Arizona is about 85 percent, and we’re trying to keep that other 15 percent from dropping out and moving toward earning their diploma, even if it takes a little longer,” Tucker said. “We recognize we’re held accountable for state tests and definitely spend effort preparing students for them, but our focus is on keeping them in school and developing analytic and critical thinking skills for that next level (in life).”
Tucker said Jose Yepez sees growth on the horizon as students have become more familiar with the learning model this year and continue to strive toward earning their diplomas and building the confidence to “think of themselves as scholars.”
Desert View Middle and High School scored a ‘C’ in 2018-2019 testing. School personnel were unavailable for comment.
Yuma Private Industry Council’s Educational Opportunity Center received a ‘D’ for 2018-2019. School personnel were unable to be reached for comment.