Throughout this school year, I will be writing articles about
Gilroy Unified School District to inform the public about national,
state and local educational topics and how they impact our
district.
Throughout this school year, I will be writing articles about Gilroy Unified School District to inform the public about national, state and local educational topics and how they impact our district. As we approach the end of the first quarter of the academic year, I will focus this article on this year’s major projects: improving academic achievement, meeting the challenge of providing quality facilities in a growing community and involving parents in actively supporting their child’s achievement.
Gilroy’s schools followed national trends when historic numbers of students showed up for school in August. GUSD enrolled a record 10,000 students. Our district is one of the few school districts in Santa Clara County to experience significant student growth.
Although increasing enrollment is a good thing, there are also challenges that come with a growing district; these include meeting the needs of the most diverse school-age population in our history; improving academic performance; addressing the impact of growth on our facilities and programs; and expanding the involvement of parents and community.
In GUSD we have defined a specific approach to meeting these challenges and, in particular, to improving the academic performance of our students. Data we collect, including state and national performance data, helped us identify areas to focus on. This approach is defined in our Strategic/Accountability Plan which is available on our Web site: www.gusd.k12.ca.us.
Academic Improvement Priorities
Although there are many facets to our academic improvement projects, a sampling of the major ones provides an overview. For example, middle schools implemented a new bell schedule in August that adds 45 minutes of instruction daily. We will focus on implementing the newly-adopted Math Improvement Plan districtwide. New state-adopted social studies texts are in our classrooms, and science textbooks will be piloted second semester.
A new partnership with Stanford University, Education Program for Gifted Youth, will offer interactive Stanford math instruction to selected K-5 students. Throughout the year, planning will occur to begin a new Early College High School program – a GUSD and Gavilan College partnership – for its fall 2007 opening. Early College will make it possible for students to complete both their high school diploma and community college Associate of Arts degree in 4-1/2 years. Our high school graduation requirements task force is beginning its work to ensure that our high school course offerings equip our students with the necessary skills to be successful in the rapidly changing global economy.
Enrollment Growth and Facilities
GUSD is well on the way to completing our $246 million facilities improvement plan. Construction of the replacement for Las Animas School is on schedule and visible from Santa Teresa Boulevard; the new school will open in fall 2007. We are in the final stages of bid document preparation for Christopher High School, scheduled to open in fall 2009. By 2008, major renovations will be completed at Brownell, also.
However, the biggest threat to the completion of our facilities Master Plan is if voters do not pass Proposition 1D, the Kindergarten-University Public Education Facilities Initiative, this November. Approximately $30 million of our projected facilities funds is targeted to come from the state – funded by Proposition 1D – to build Christopher High School. If Proposition 1D does not pass, the district will have to postpone or significantly alter plans to open a new high school and complete other projects by 2009.
On an encouraging note, until recently GUSD has not had a developer take the initiative to discuss options to fully mitigate the impact of residential development. It costs $9.45 per square foot to build a school facility and the district collects $2.63 in developers’ fees.
We are very encouraged that a developer from outside Gilroy has approached the district to discuss options to close the funding gap; one option is a developer-built school. Without this type of collaborative relationship, it will be impossible for GUSD to keep pace with the city’s growth rate.
Parent and Community Involvement
Parents frequently ask me what they can do to support their child’s education. Studies of parent involvement show that participation in the following areas is critical to students’ success:
n Knowing your child’s teacher and grade level expectations
n Tracking your child’s progress
n Setting limits, schedules and knowing your child’s friends and whereabouts
n Modeling the value of learning, self-discipline and hard work
n Creating a home life supportive of success which includes a place to study, limited television, unlimited reading and listening to their children
n Visiting school and volunteering on campus
In GUSD we believe that everyone has a stake and a role in the continuous improvement of our students’ achievement.
Families, teachers, district staff, administration and community members working together this year will ensure that each one of our 10,000 students is challenged and supported in reaching their potential. Also, the entire community’s understanding and support of school facilities issues such as Proposition 1D, and the need for residential projects to fully mitigate the impact their projects will have on schools, will ensure that every student continues to thrive in a quality learning environment as Gilroy grows.
Edwin Diaz is the superintendent of the gilroy Unified School District. Anyone interested in writing a guest column may contact Editor Mark Derry at 842-6400.
