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Congratulations to Clear Lake High School, recently recognized with the 2011 Distinguished School award. According to State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson, “Becoming a Distinguished School is a direct reflection of the dedication, hard work, and vision of each school’s education community. They have succeeded despite a bleak economic environment and have endeavored to maintain their momentum and focus.”
Steve Gentry has been on staff at Clear Lake since 1978 and principal since 1995. He humbly accepted congratulations from Lakeport Unified School District President Dennis Darling during the April board meeting crediting the school as a whole, the ‘remarkable students’ and ‘excellent teachers’ in particular, for their hard work and dedication.
Clear Lake High is Lake County’s only school receiving the state’s designation this year, though others have earned the honor previously. Criteria for selection as a Distinguished School is based on the school’s ability to ‘demonstrate significant gains in narrowing the achievement gap’ as shown in its improvement in testing scores. “It is based on the school and not individual accomplishments,” said Gentry. Are the students achieving? That’s what the state is looking at — English, Math, Science, History — these are all measured.
So how does one become one of California’s most exemplary and inspiring public schools for 2011. Principal Steve Gentry explains it is a success story that is many years in the making. Although participation is voluntary, the award is highly sought after by schools in all areas of the state. Elementary and secondary schools are recognized during alternate years. Schools are identified for eligibility on the basis of their Academic Performance Index and Adequate Yearly Progress results, which are the state and federal accountability models, respectively.
In addition to improvement of the school’s testing scores, two “signature practices” by each institution are examined by the state when selecting the honorees. Clear Lake High chose Project CRISS and AVID, two programs aimed at assisting students with their learning skills and setting goals. Students and teachers alike have embraced both, said Gentry. “We chose those two because they are used schoolwide; they touch almost every class. We can apply them to all students.” This year, schools earning the Distinguished School title agree to share their Signature Practices with other schools and serve as mentors to other educators who want to replicate their work.
CRISS (Creating Independence through Student-owned Strategies) “forces students to interact with materials,” said history instructor Barbara O’Rourke. Nearly all 21 full-time teachers received training in CRISS three years ago, and O’Rourke received additional instruction to become a trainer for future faculty members. The teachers have found the strategies to be useful for almost all academic subjects, said O’Rourke.
A bulletin board in the teachers’ lounge at the school is used to post examples of the many methods and techniques being used schoolwide. They include Patterns & Structure,
RAFT (Role Action Format Topic), Organizing, Vocabulary and other discussion, writing and questioning strategies. When students are asked to use KWL during the class time, they know what is expected, said O’Rourke. KWL is a method of listing, in three separate columns, what the students Know, What they want to learn (or what the teacher wants them to learn), and everything they have Learned about a subject, she explained.
AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination), an elective class for all students, “helps develop students as self-directed learners who follow a rigorous path that will enable them to attend the college of their choice,” explained Kristi Tripp, who teaches junior and senior AVID classes. Each year provides a focus of specific goals. On Monday, a class of juniors worked in groups to tackle practice questions in preparation for taking the SAT.
Corey Hustead, a senior who has taken AVID classes throughout high school, proudly wore a sweatshirt emblazoned with “HSU” across his chest. Accepted at various colleges, Hustead will be the first in his family to attend a four-year college. Proud of the achievement, he credits AVID and his instructors for their kind “push” to pursue further education.
“(AVID) helped me pursue my own dreams, individually,” said Hustead. “I put it on myself. This is my education; I did what I needed to do to get my grades up.” The daily AVID class gives him time to do his homework, talk to a teacher if he needs to, and do assignments. “It’s a combination study hall/college-going initiative for me,” he said.
With goals to become a psychologist (“I like the human brain”), Hustead is carrying a 3.4 GPA and hopes to bring it up to 3.5 before the end of the school year. He said he chose Humboldt State University because he preferred the rural area to big city choices.
CLHS freshman Daisy Hernandez said
AVID has helped her plan for her classes over the next three years. She is already preparing for college, hoping to attend either the Academy of Art in San Francisco or CalPoly in San Luis Obispo for an education in architecture. The longtime Lakeport student said AVID helped her get through her shyness and fear of giving presentations, starting in middle school.
The high school AVID course has given her reading skills for her language arts courses and assistance in math. A portion of the AVID classes during the week is spent with
peer tutors. Hernandez said she is grateful for their help because it has provided assistance with math.
Hustead and Hernandez are two of the school’s approximately 450 students benefiting from the curriculum. “Are we going to reach everyone with these programs? Some students may not be as successful; but as a group, all are steadily improving,” said Gentry. “We have good programs we can point to. We have gone above and beyond with a couple of our programs.”
Lakeport Unified School District takes pride in all of its school sites while recognizing the high school’s recent honor, says District Superintendent Erin Smith-Hagberg. “Though CLHS has benefited from the support of its feeder schools in preparing students for the rigors of the high school curriculum, the entire staff has excelled in taking kids to the next levels of their intellectual and personal development,” she said. “It is an achievement we can celebrate throughout the district and community.”
Susan Stout is a freelance writer providing marketing and public relations for a variety of organizations and businesses in Lake and Mendocino counties. She also tutors elementary through college students in math and English. She is a 28-year resident of Lakeport.
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