Santa Maria Sun / School Scene

Santa Maria High School community comes together to strengthen academics, student life

Amy Asman

Dozens of teachers, students, parents, and school administrators gathered at Santa Maria High School on Aug. 18 to accentuate the positive about the more-than-100-year-old school.

During the daylong event, focus groups discussed the school’s strengths and brainstormed ways to improve upon its weaknesses.

Encouraging words: Jack O’Connell, California’s superintendent of public instruction, delivered the welcome speech at Santa Maria High School’s “Appreciative Inquiry” summit on Aug. 18. The event allowed teachers, students, parents, and school administrators to as PHOTO COURTESY THE BREEZE

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell was on hand to give the welcome speech, during which he praised Santa Maria High School’s ongoing transition from an underperforming school to an accomplished one.

The “appreciative inquiry” was funded with money from a $16,000 grant awarded to the school through California’s Quality Education Investment Act. The 2006 legislation is geared toward helping schools with decidedly low Academic Performance Index scores.

“We decided as a school to do something different to kick off the new school year, something that would allow us to share good stories and ideas,” Santa Maria High School Principal Craig Huseth told the Sun.

In order to keep receiving funds from the state, the high school must continue meeting the terms of the grant, which include increasing counselor-to-student ratios to one counselor per every 300 students; lowering class sizes for core courses, such as math and English, to no more than 23 students per class; and establishing a minimum of 40 hours per year of staff development time for teachers.

Also, the school’s STAR testing scores must improve. But Huseth said that he’s certain of his students’ abilities.

“Our API went up 30 points since our STAR testing in 2007,” he said, adding that the score is based on raw data. “That score may go up or down a couple points, but we’re very confident in our results.”

STAR testing (that’s Standardized Testing And Reporting) is monitored by the California Department of Education and helps determine the distribution of state funds to schools.

Official data, Huseth said, should be released statewide in the next few weeks.

Another important part of the inquiry was making sure students and other members of the school community had a voice.

“We really made a point to listen to our students and what they wanted,” Huseth said, adding that some of the subjects discussed included better food and more review sessions.

If they work together, Huseth said, students, teachers, and school administrators should be able to make the improvements necessary for ensuring the school’s future success.

For more information about Santa Maria High School, test scores, and planning, visit www.smjuhsd.k12.ca.us/santa_maria.

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School Scene is compiled by Staff Writer Amy Asman. Information should be sent to the Sun via fax, e-mail, or mail.