Chapter 3

Progress Report

Chapter: 3

WASC: March 2011 Pictured Event: Academic Decathlon Medals

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ECR: Home of Academic and Athletic Excellence

Chapter 3: Critical Areas of Follow­Up from the Last Full Self­Study

Progress Report In 2004, WASC awarded El Camino Real a six‐year accreditation through 2011 with a one day mid‐ term visit. There have been many organizational changes since the first visit and the mid‐term visit. Los Angeles Unified School District appointed a new superintendent; in Local District 1, both the superintendent and the director of high schools are new appointees.

These changes have been seamless for El Camino and the new officials have been supportive.

Our current principal came to ECR during the fall semester of 2006 and actively participated in the one‐day midterm visit in spring 2008. The Principal has had a long association with El Camino: as a teacher, as department chair, a dean, and as an administrator. As the leader, he is committed to El Camino’s success as is evidenced by the school’s continuing success on CST, API, AYP scores, graduation rate, college admission rate, athletics, and other extra‐ curricular achievements. His leadership encourages collaboration, consensus building, and school improvement. It is his leadership that made the faculty driven charter movement gain momentum. The Principal is supported by a highly committed, veteran team of administrators who have been at El Camino between 16 and 25 years. It was one of these Assistant Principals who was the driving force behind El Camino being recognized as a California Distinguished School. The El Camino faculty and staff continue to remain dedicated to meeting the academic needs of all students. Due to budget cuts El Camino has recently lost one administrator, several teaching positions, and the clerical staff was reduced by almost 40%. For the same reason, each guidance counselor now carries a load of approximately 800 students. Despite these challenges, El Camino continues to excel in both academics and in extracurricular activities including a record breaking 6th Academic Decathlon National Championship.

This chapter is organized as follows: first we report our response from Spring 2008 to what the visiting committee recommended in 2004, followed by what we have accomplished since the midterm visit (2008‐2011). At the mid‐term visit the WASC committee did not have any further recommendations but we have continued our efforts to remain an excellent school in every aspect.

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Report on School­wide Action Plan Progress Growth Areas: From WASC Action Plan for Student Achievement (2004) Growth Area # 1: There is a need to expand our School­to­Career transition program.

Mid‐Term Progress Report 2008 We continually concentrate on the work needed to develop this action plan. Although we have not established funding for a full‐time career counselor, we have acquired one more counselor and given those responsibilities to him. School‐to‐Career portfolios are no longer used by LAUSD; therefore, no in‐servicing of teachers is necessary to distribute these portfolios. In place of the portfolios, we use a computer software program called e‐Choices which is accessible from any computer at school or at home. This program is used initially by students in the 9th grade in their Life Skills classes. The advantage of this software program is that students have access to the program through their four years of high school and they may update it at any time. The Road to the Future monthly program is active and involves a wide spectrum of business and community speakers. The School‐to Career committee, in conjunction with the Woodland Hills Chamber of Commerce, is working diligently on the Career Expo which will include presenters from various fields of expertise.

Update Since Mid‐Term Progress Report (2008‐2011) State and district budget issues have prevented us from funding a full‐time career counselor.

In addition, we have lost four counseling positions and are down to four counselors and one college counselor. Each counselor talks to her students about career decisions, but they are unable to go into great detail due their increased case loads. The 9th grade Life Skills classes no longer use the e‐Choices program as LAUSD does not require Life Skills for graduation but career discussions occur due to a district requirement to pick a career pathway. This career pathway choice is part of each student’s school record and is a graduation requirement. For special education students at El Camino the District Office of Transition Services (DOTS) teacher does career assessments and guides students in terms of transition to post secondary experience. This aspect of the program includes field trips to relevant programs and sites. Another feature of the program includes the Paid Work‐ Based Learning Program. On an as‐needed basis the teacher works with students in small groups and individually. The work experience program is still going strong, but has fewer students due to a decrease in job openings for high school age students. The Road to the Future program no longer exists, but has been replaced by academy‐sponsored guest speaker programs. For example, students in the Careers in Entertainment Academy have attended lectures by a

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documentary film maker, a prop master, an actor, a marketing director, journalists and screenwriters. Targeting specific audiences seems to be a more efficient and effective way to run the guest speaker program and we will continue to expand this program to meet the needs of all our students. The School‐to‐Career committee continues to work with the Woodland Hills Chamber of Commerce and the Rotary Club to put on the annual Career Expo.

Growth Area #2: There is a need to expand and support programs to ensure the academic and personal growth of all students.

Mid‐Term Progress Report 2008 El Camino Real has made extensive effort into restructuring the 9th grade class with the focus of personalization in order to re‐enfranchise under‐performing students and meet their academic needs. Although there is no funding to reinstate the Mentor Program, which was our original mission, the Freshman Houses have more adults interacting with the students and thereby providing the mentoring for these students. Our Athletic Department offers mandatory study sessions for struggling athletes. The Math and Science Departments offer tutoring during lunch.

The Math and Science Academy students offer one‐on‐one peer tutoring in Math. The Science Department has mandatory Homework Club during lunch for their underachieving students.

Read 180, a software monitoring program, is utilized in a double‐block class to assist students reading below grade level.

The Blue Ribbon Committee (BRC), composed of students, is a proactive mediation program emphasizing anti‐violence, anti‐gang behaviors and the practice of positive human relations.

ECR’s BRC Committee meets every week along with counselors, teachers and Deans to facilitate student mediation and encourage student responsibility and accountability Update Since Mid‐Term Progress Report (2008‐2011) We are still unable to fund a Mentor Program, but have expanded the role of peer support programs on campus. We have recently begun a Peer Education Tutors (PETs) program which offers tutoring by high achieving students in a variety of subjects at lunch every day of the week under the supervision of a teacher. Peer College Counselors (PCCs) work in the college office and assist the college counselor in providing college information to students. The Peer Active Listeners (PALs) program partners trained student‐counselors with students who are struggling with personal issues. The BRC program continues to be a positive influence on campus. The Foreign Language department also has a peer tutoring system that utilizes the talents of their

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advanced students. In addition, teachers from all departments volunteer their time at lunch and after school to tutor students.

The Read 180 program continues to help students who are reading below grade level. The Freshman Houses program only lasted two years, but part of its role (personalization) has been taken up by our Academies. We will explore the use of periodic advisory sessions during time allotted for the silent reading program to increase support for all students.

El Camino has recently added an online credit recovery program to help students requiring remediation. This program supplements Adult School offerings and is an additional way to make sure students graduate on time.

Growth Area #3: In order to maintain the technology instruction and support for our students, we must locate reliable funding for computer support.

Mid‐Term Progress Report 2008 Through a School Improvement Grant, we were able to update our computer lab by replacing 40 computers. This purchase allowed us to offer a new course dealing with animation and gaming.

The beginning program used, ALICE, was developed by Carnegie Melon University with an emphasis to promote career paths in Computer Science for minorities and women. Although we have not been able to establish permanent funding for our full‐time Microcomputer Assistant Network Manager, we are fortunate in that Local District 1 frequently allows us to convert a teaching position for money which we use to pay for this position.

Update Since Mid-Term Progress Report (2008-2011) In 2007, El Camino was able to update computers in another lab using Block Grant funds. This lab has been used to teach Information Processing and Introduction to Computers and is currently the location of the online credit recovery program. In 2009, we were able to replace the computers in a third lab using CEA funding from the state. These computers are used part of the day for a CEA class in New Media where students learn how to use Photoshop, Illustrator, In Design, Word, and Excel. The skills learned in this class are used in other CEA electives such as Broadcast Journalism and Film Making. A state settlement with Microsoft enabled us to purchase laptop computers for sixty four staff members. This Fall (2010), we lost our Microcomputer Assistant Network Manager due to budget cuts, but were able to rearrange the master program to create time in the day for two computer teachers to take over his duties. We continue to seek funding to update the computer labs on campus.

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Growth Area #4: In order to better meet the needs of our student population and improve student achievement, we will pilot and expand small learning communities and academies to personalize education for all level students.

Mid‐Term Progress Report 2008 In order to achieve our goal of improving student achievement, we have drastically expanded our small learning communities. Our Humanitas Program has expanded to include all four grade levels. Humanitas and AVID are also identified as Freshman Houses. To meet the needs of the higher achieving students, the Math and Science Academy was formed and also serves as a Freshman House. A School Improvement Grant has been awarded to El Camino Real and we are in the process of working through committees and our Redesign Team on an Arts and Career Academy that will be in partnership with the many entertainment businesses in this community.

We have assessed our faculty and found that many have backgrounds in the entertainment industry. In the endeavor to implement the grant, we are using the resources of our Parent‐ Community leaders. Our Art and Design Academy, in its third year, continues its joint partnership with FIDM (Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising).

Update Since Mid‐Term Progress Report (2008‐2011) The Humanitas Program remains the model for all our Academies. They have increased their writing‐based focus and have developed many award‐winning thematic units at each grade level.

Recent expansion of their curriculum has seen the inclusion of art and philosophy components.

The AVID program continues to successfully serve the needs of under‐represented students and sends nearly all of their members to four‐year universities. The Art and Design Academy continues to partner with FIDM and remains a successful program. The last three years have been a roller coaster ride for the Math/Science Academy. They reached a high point when we were able to offer classes in biotechnology, robotics, and engineering. Funding for the biotechnology class was provided by federal funding through the Perkins program. Funding requirements changed last year and we no longer qualified. Among the considerations was the fact that the Perkins program determined that our instructor was not qualified to teach the course even though she had received hundreds of hours of training and previously worked in the field. Students had high interest in the class and the school is looking to reinstate the class with a different funding source. The robotics class reverted back to a club due to master program considerations and budget cuts, but we are still able to offer after‐school engineering classes thanks to a partnership with Pierce Community College. In Fall 2008, the Careers in Entertainment Academy (CEA) began with its first ninth grade class. The program now serves students in grades nine through eleven and will expand to include seniors next year (2011‐2012).

The teachers in this program have created new classes, formed partnerships with Pierce

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Community College and Los Angeles Film School, and continue to explore internships with local businesses.

El Camino has also researched the creation of other Academies including Building/Construction and Recreation/Hospitality. We are also currently working with the District and Architects for Achievement to create unique learning and social spaces for our Academies. For example, we will be turning one of our classrooms into a television studio for the CEA.

Goals: Recommendations from the WASC visiting committee Report (2005) Recommendation #1: There is a need for the leadership and instructional staff to establish or renew efforts to achieve representation of all students in upper level courses, extra­curricular and co­curricular activities to enhance student performance.

Mid‐Term Progress Report 2008 ECR’s greatest effort since the last WASC visit has been the focus on students transitioning from middle school to high school. In an effort to assist students with this transition, we have formed Freshman Houses that are Small Learning Communities (SLC) composed of a core group of teachers with a common planning period clustered around a group of students. The students’ grades and attendance are closely monitored by the teachers, administrators, and a counselor assigned to each of the seven houses. Each house has an elected 9th grade representative which allows more opportunity for students to assume a leadership role. The aim of the houses is to proactively engage students and keep them involved in their high school experience. The houses also participate in intramural class battles, quizzes, and athletic activities. To actively engage and inform the parents of the incoming 9th grade students, two evening events were held: Freshman House Night and a New Student Night. The purpose of these informative evening events was to acquaint parents with the goals of the Freshmen Houses and aid them in helping their child successfully transition to high school. The reason for establishing the Freshman Houses was when we examined the data, it was obvious that the ECR’s dropout rate was linked to how the student performed between the 9th and 10th grade. There is a clear correlation between the number of failing grades a student receives in the 9th grade and the number of students who drop out of high school. We felt that our greatest impact on lowering the dropout rate would be to focus on the 9th grade student.

Since the last WASC visit, a Redesign Team was formed to assess, develop, refine and focus on making our campus a more inclusive environment for all students. More underrepresented students are now taking AP courses and passing at higher rates. The Summer Bridge Program

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was established to close the Achievement Gap by building skills and confidence of students who would not traditionally avail themselves of these higher level classes. To introduce students to the rigors of AP classes, we have expanded the Summer School offerings to include AP U.S. History, AP Language/Composition, and AP Chemistry.

To further promote the inclusion and success of minority students, The Village and La Familia programs have been brought on to our campus. The Village is a nationwide exemplary program that has statistically shown to have a positive impact on the standardized scores of the African American student. Likewise, La Familia is a nationwide program that has also shown to have improved scores for the Hispanic student. We are continuing with both programs and hope to see success reflected in the results on Standardized tests.

El Camino Real has a high passing rate on the CAHSEE test. To ensure that struggling students pass the CAHSEE, the CAHSEE Boot Camp is offered to these students after school. The CAHSEE Boot Camp is offered in the Fall and Spring and concentrates on reviewing the math and English skills needed to pass the test. Many of these students need more credits to graduate high school; the bonus of the CAHSEE Boot Camp is that by attending the review sessions these students can also earn credits towards graduation.

There has been a restructuring of the Special Education Department. The Resource Specialist Program (RSP) student is now in a collaborative class, specifically in math and English. Students are enrolled in classes with the general population and have access to the regular curriculum using the California Standards. The implementation of this restructuring allows a higher percentage of RSP students to gain the needed knowledge to graduate with a high school diploma.

Update Since Mid‐Term Progress Report The Freshman House program only lasted two years. The school found that the successful houses already had a strong identity because they were associated with established academies (i.e. Humanitas, Math/Science). These programs capitalized on their existing identities and activities. The other Houses did not create a strong and lasting impression that captured the students’ interest. The school then made a push to expand the Math/Science Academy to include mid‐range students and it has seen the creation of the Careers in Entertainment Academy. The purpose was to expand successful programs to serve more students. The new Action Plan renews the school’s focus on the freshman class.

The summer Bridge program was lost due to budget cuts, but we hope to reinstate it using charter school funds. Though sincere in their efforts, the Village and La Familia programs have had limited success due in part to a lack of follow‐up. The new Action Plan will work to

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bring both of these programs back to the forefront and will include a complete curriculum from start to finish. Despite the loss of these programs, both Hispanic and African American students have improved their scores on the CST and AYP. Both sub groups present cultural assemblies which are highly popular with the general student population.

Students of all ethnicities continue to do very well on the CAHSEE. In March 2010 the pass rate for tenth grade students was 90% for both the ELA and mathematics portions of the exam. Hispanic students had the lowest pass rate, but still managed a very respectable 85% in ELA and 83% in mathematics. The school’s standards‐based instruction and CAHSEE preparation classes have contributed greatly to this success.

The students in the Resource Program continue to improve academically and test scores continue to rise. Our program offers a full collaborative model and Resource elective classes in Developmental Reading and Algebra Readiness. The program is known throughout the District and acts as a model for many schools.

All students are represented in our co‐curricular and extra‐curricular programs. Students have access to almost 80 clubs and more than 20 sports, each with several skill levels.

Students with other interests, such as visual and performing arts, are also able to access many activities. Student Council, Student Senate, and class steering committees offer students forums to guide the school. The school has seen a re‐emergence of school spirit at athletic events as evidenced by the reintroduction of our school mascot and the “Conquerors Corner” at basketball games.

Recommendation #2: There is a need for the leadership in collaboration with staff and other stakeholders to increase the capacity of the school to meet the needs of mid­range, under­represented and non­college bound students.

Mid‐Term Progress Report 2008 The School‐to‐Career Committee, consisting of representatives from each department, students, community members, and administrators, is actively pursuing the development of programs that link career awareness for our students. To accomplish this, the annual Career Fair allows students to be exposed to a variety of careers and professions. The Road to the Future is a monthly program that allows guest speakers to address students at lunch regarding their specific careers. Since the last WASC visit, we have a new Work Experience Coordinator who has shifted the focus to involve and expose more students to various careers. She has gone out into the community to visit small business owners in the hopes of forging a more active relationship with

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ECR. We have an up‐to‐date job board where postings are prominently advertised and students have access to this information.

West Valley Occupational Center (WVOC) in close partnership with ECR offers classes to our students that teach skills that lead to employment. Through the District Office of Transition Services (DOTS), students on a daily basis travel by bus to WVOC to take classes. On a regular basis, students also travel by bus to various skill centers to become acquainted with skill courses offered by various institutions. ECR students who qualify through the DOTS program work for pay at various locations in our community. Our campus also hosts the Dental Assistant Program through the Regional Occupational Program (ROP). Graduates of this program receive a certificate that allows them to be employed in a dental office. The Graphics Arts Department is part of the ROP program and students who participate in these classes graduate with employable skills.

AVID, a SLC, is a four‐year program with the goal of motivating students to prepare for and attend college. This program’s objective is to close the Achievement Gap by building skills and confidence of students who would not traditionally have the opportunity to prepare for and attend college. This program motivates at‐risk students through one‐on‐one counseling, referral to tutoring programs, and coordination with parents for home support.

ECR’s Art and Design Academy is in its third year. Through this program, students are exposed to careers in the design, art, and fashion world. Many students have chosen careers in these fields who otherwise would not have had they not participated in this program. FIDM has the largest number of entering students from high school out of El Camino Real High School.

Update Since Mid‐Term Progress Report (2008‐2011)

The Career expo continues to be an annual tradition at the school. As mentioned elsewhere in the report, the Road to Your Future program has been replaced by academy‐specific guest speaker programs which seem to be a more effective and efficient way of communicating with interested students. We have a new Work Experience coordinator and he is building on the success of his predecessor.

El Camino still has a close relationship with WVOC and encourages students to take classes there. The DOTS program serves students in the special education program by providing jobs and job training. Due to a retirement, we no longer have a dental ROP program, but continue to have the Graphic Arts ROP program.

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The AVID program and the Art and Design Academy are still having great success with their students. In the next year, both programs should be part of a classroom renovation sponsored by the District and Architects for Achievement. AVID will receive a reading lab/tutoring space and the Art and Design Academy will get an upgraded space for their design and sewing projects. Both projects should enhance the programs and increase student achievement.

The on‐campus Adult School program offers classes that students can take to make up credits. Some classes are formal and are one semester long whereas others are taught through the Individualized Instruction Lab where students can work at their own pace. The new online credit recovery program is an effective complement to Adult School classes.

Students can access classes online and can work at their own pace. They check in once a week with the instructor and can work after school in the computer lab.

Building on the success of several of our existing Academies to reach the needs of mid‐range students, our Careers in Entertainment Academy is now in its third year. This is a high interest academy and teaches students skills that can get them jobs after graduating high school.

The new Intervention Coordinator position allows the school to catch more students before they “fall through the cracks”. Through counselor and Deans’ office referrals, the Intervention Coordinator is put in touch with students requiring extra attention and guidance.

Recommendation #3: The school leadership in collaboration with staff and other stakeholders should refine the school­wide action plan, especially in relation to the specificity of the actions and dependency on funding.

Mid­Term Progress Report 2008 Serious consideration has been given by all stakeholders regarding how to efficiently use the limited financial resources at ECR. To this end, Friends of ECR, a parent support group is now the official fundraising group for us. We have incorporated all the Booster groups into this one support group for purposes of monitoring and efficiency. This group is utilized to buy big‐ticket items that otherwise the school could not afford to purchase. NJROTC was able to take its annual trip to San Diego Naval docks through the money raised by Friends of ECR. Also, ECR’s Academic Decathlon Team relies on this group for the additional costs associated with traveling for competitions. Teachers frequently ask Friends of ECR for classroom items that the school would not otherwise be able to afford. Traditionally, every March, the group holds its major and successful fundraiser with a silent auction and dinner dance.

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The Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) has also been active in helping our curriculum by donating a generous amount of money to the school; the emphasis of the group this year is the library.

ECR has actively pursued and received a grant for the new SLC titled Arts and Career Academy that will allow students to be exposed to careers in the entertainment industry and perhaps pursue a career in this field. We are in the planning stages of this SLC and our Redesign Team is writing a curriculum that will link different departments together to complete the courses needed toward such a career. In this endeavor, we are also utilizing the expertise and the talents of the community and local businesses.

Update Since Mid‐Term Progress Report (2008‐2011) The Friends of ECR and PTSA parent groups have continued to raise and donate money to the school to provide new items and services and to make up for funding lost due to budget cuts. The Careers in Entertainment Academy (CEA) is now in its third year and encompasses grades nine through eleven. Next year CEA will expand to become a four‐year program as it welcomes its first senior class. Funding for the first two years of this academy was provided by a state grant. A volunteer Patron of the Arts committee, made up of local entertainment industry people, has periodically provided advice and services to the academy. In addition, the Los Angeles Film School has agreed to be a business partner with the school.

As the state, district, and school have faced enormous budget cuts, El Camino has learned to use resources in different ways. We eliminated a Dean position and replaced it with an Intervention Coordinator. Deans’ Office business still gets handled in a timely manner and now we have a new resource to guide under‐performing students. The school lost counseling staff due to new district norms, but was able to keep some teaching positions to help with class sizes.

The new Action Plan proposed in this report is comprised of approximately 50% of items that do not require additional funding.

Recommendation #4: There is a need for the school leadership and staff to develop and implement ways to increase the participation of under­represented students and their parents in the entire school improvement process.

Mid‐Term Progress Report 2008 One of the greatest impacts on student and parent communication has been the development of our very comprehensive Website. The Website is maintained by a certificated staff member who

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has a period assigned specifically to maintain the Website. The Website has an up‐to‐date calendar, an e‐mail link to every teacher in the school and to Websites maintained by teachers so that students and parents can check assignments and grades online. The College Office has an extensive link with college application information and a direct link to the College Board Website. The PTSA uses the Website to link its own Website and electronically publishes its newspaper, The Cameo. The Athletic teams are also linked to the Website and provide specific information to the athletes along with their calendar. The library also maintains an extensive search engine program that is linked to the Website. The Website also has the capability of translating the information into Spanish, Korean and Chinese.

Parents have access to teachers through a newly installed voicemail system. All teachers have been trained in the use of the system. This allows an extra venue for under represented parents to communicate with the school. An ECR Handbook is distributed to all incoming freshmen that outlines graduation and college requirements, plus school policies regarding attendance, discipline, etc.

To improve parent‐school communication, the first Friday of each month is set aside for Coffee with the Principal. This platform allows parents to voice their concerns, and discuss school and community issues. The first Friday of each month ECR provides tours of the school led by an Assistant Principal. This tour format is an informal way for potential parents and students to ask impromptu questions and to visit our campus.

The English Learner Advisory Committee meets on a regular basis. The parents on the committee review the bilingual budget and discuss issues relevant to the EL program.

The Student Study Team (SST) provides intervention for students who are experiencing difficulties at school and recommends intervention strategies to enhance student success.

A recent concern at ECR has been an increase in the use of drugs and alcohol among the students. We feel a major factor in this trend is the disconnection between parents and students and the lack of information the parents have about their child’s drug and/or alcohol abuse. In a proactive response to this problem, we have scheduled an evening presentation for the community consisting of a panel that includes law enforcement officers, psychologists, local drug treatment counselors, as well as parents and students sharing their personal stories. In our effort to be supportive and educational rather than punitive to students caught with illegal substances, we have formed a partnership with Tarzana Treatment Center which will hold weekly group meetings on our campus led by drug abuse counselors.

Junior College Knowledge Night and Senior College Knowledge Night offer students and their parents exposure to a plethora of information related to various college options. Similarly, the

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College Extraordinaire Faire at Pierce Community College offers all students as well as under represented students and their parents information and workshops on college choices. ECR’s full‐time college counselor is available for students and regularly publishes College Knowledge bulletins. School‐wide, per District policy, all 10th grade students take the PSAT exam. The counselors, as part of 10th Grade Counseling Night engage the underrepresented students and their parents in conversations regarding college and other options after high school. Students meet individually with their counselors every semester to plan their instructional program and to review A–G and graduation requirements.

Update Since Mid‐Term Progress Report (2008‐2011) We continue to use the activities mentioned in the mid‐term report. The website now specifically features a Parents Corner section at the top of the home page so parents have easy access to information and an easy way to contact the parent groups and school if they have concerns. The parent newsletter, The Cameo, now comes out on a weekly basis via e‐ mail and contains information about school activities, ways to get involved, and contact information to address concerns about the school. El Camino has increased the use of the Connect‐Ed phone message service to provide parents with information about all aspects of the school. The voicemail and e‐mail systems have become entrenched in our culture as effective ways to contact teachers, counselors, and administration. The PTSA meets monthly in the school’s Parent Center. Most meetings take place during the day, but about one third occur at 7:00 p.m. to allow greater participation in the school improvement process. In addition, many of our teams, such as, marching band and the baseball team, have individual parent support groups.

Students continue to have a say in school processes through Student Council, student clubs, and student senate meetings. All of these groups are open to all students and have members representative of the entire student body. Students also know that they can, and are not reluctant to, contact any administrator with concerns they may have about other students, teachers, or the school in general.

El Camino still feels there is a need to increase interactions with under‐represented students and their parents and we have addressed these new goals in the Action Plan.

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Recommendation #5: There is a need for the ECR stakeholder groups to map out the use of alternative scheduling models and organizational structures that support student achievement in order to provide for the needs of a diverse student population.

Mid‐Term Progress Report 2008 Since the last WASC visit, we have expanded the daily schedule to zero period to include more course offerings. We also offer 7th period classes to afford students the opportunity to take elective classes. Many of our students utilize the opportunity provided by the local community college, using us as a satellite center, to take classes on our campus. This dual enrollment with the community college allows students to be challenged by college courses and earn college credits while still in high school. To support student achievement, Adult School offers remedial classes for our underachieving students. Miguel Leonis Continuation School, located on our campus, in partnership with El Camino, offers an extra opportunity for students to complete their classes and graduate with a high school diploma. Summer School, held on our premises, gives students the opportunity to meet graduation requirements; last summer, 1,800 students took advantage of this opportunity.

Update Since Mid‐Term Progress Report (2008‐2011) Zero period classes continue to be a popular offering and in Fall 2010, we had nine such classes in six departments. Marching band and drum‐line are our only seventh period classes, but students have other opportunities to take classes after school. While students can access the new online credit recovery program from home, they must check in after school at least once a week and can use the computer lab until 4:00 p.m. to do their work and to take their exams. The adult school program has after school classes ranging from formal, semester‐long courses to independent study classes where students work at their own pace. Pierce College regularly schedules approximately ten classes at El Camino each semester and has partnered with two of our academies (Math/Science and CEA) to offer specialized courses on campus. Students can also take vocational classes during the day at the West Valley Occupational Center. In recent years, the summer school program has decreased due to district budget cuts. Students can no longer take enrichment classes, but are still able to re‐take classes in which they have previously received a “D” or a Fail. The largest scheduling change that has occurred recently is our conversion to an early‐start calendar. El Camino is one of seventeen schools in the district where students begin the fall semester in mid‐August and take fall semester final exams in mid‐December. The spring semester begins when students return from winter break and ends in late May or early June. This schedule gives students approximately three extra weeks to learn the state standards and therefore be better prepared for CST and AP testing. The 2010‐2011 school

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year is the first on this schedule so we do not have any data yet on its effectiveness. A huge organizational change on the horizon is a potential conversion to an independent charter school. El Camino wrote a charter proposal in 2010‐2011 and, as of this writing, it has yet to be approved by the District. This would have an enormous impact on the school in all areas, especially with the budget. Since the District does not currently give the school any extra money for Title I students, we hope to see an increase in the budget and therefore an increased ability to offer extra programs to the students.

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