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Saturday, December 12, 2009

South Valley Academy Bridges Gap

By Katarina Sandoval-Tonini
Co-Founder & Principal, South Valley Academy
          "Miss, I got the Sandia Labs internship!" My former student, Natalia Perez, was thrilled that she was selected for an administrative internship through her CNM program. And she should be — Natalia will graduate with her associates degree in office technology in May 2010.
        Her journey through high school and post-secondary education has been a long and difficult one that is increasingly more typical of our Latino youths from the South Valley.
        Natalia is a learning-disabled student with disabilities in reading, written language and math. She is the daughter of Mexican immigrants from the border state of Chihuahua and was in bilingual programs through middle school. She had her first child at the age of 16 and then her second at 19. Despite being poor, learning disabled and a teen parent, Natalia graduated in four years from high school with her peers and is now about to earn her associates degree.
        She beat all the odds.
        And I am proud to say that South Valley Academy was part of her success.
        South Valley Academy is an APS charter school. We are a public school that has an agreement with both Albuquerque Public Schools and the state Public Education Department to operate based on what we believe best addresses the needs of our students.
        In exchange for such autonomy, we are expected to deliver results in the form of increased student achievement.
        South Valley Academy has served students like Natalia for the past 10 years. Ninety-eight percent of our students are Hispanic; 93 percent of our students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch; and 77 percent speak Spanish as their first language.
        Since our first graduating class in 2004, 92 percent of our graduates have entered post-secondary institutions, and 28 percent of our 2004 graduates have already earned their associates or bachelors degrees, whereas only 11 percent of all Latinos in the nation hold a post-secondary degree. Most of our graduates attend UNM and CNM, and some have graduated from or are currently attending St. John's College, Stanford University, Pomona, Occidental, Amherst, Knox, Fort Lewis, University of San Francisco, BYU at Idaho and Rensselaer Polytechnic.
        With the exception of last year, we were one of only a few schools in the state serving these demographics to make AYP for five years in a row.
        One of the main features of South Valley Academy that allows us to increase student achievement is its small size.
        We have a total of 250 students in grades 9-12. By keeping our size small, we are able to eliminate tracking and have all students learn together with the bar set high. Teachers modify their instruction based on individual student need.
        Through school-based families known as advisories, students are carefully supported and monitored, and parents are close partners with advisers. Being an adviser is in many ways like being a parent, and we describe the role of adviser to parents and students as the "mom or dad at school." Each adult serves as an adviser to a group of 10-11 students.
        We support, challenge, coach and discipline each of our advisees. This high level of support for each individual student is crucial for his or her graduation from high school and entrance into college.
        South Valley Academy students ultimately change the world — or at least their corner of it — through our nationally recognized Service Learning Program.
        Students go to local nonprofits to complete a weekly, three-hour unpaid internship that culminates in the Senior Action Project, where students choose an issue about which they are passionate, research it and then design and implement a plan of action to address it.
        Previous Senior Action Projects have included creating an on-site organic farm and helping to get state legislation passed to allow undocumented students access to state financial aid for college.
        Natalia's test scores on the standards-based assessment when she was in high school weren't proficient or advanced. But we know that preparing students to earn a post-secondary degree involves so much more than just content knowledge. Small, familial-based learning communities built upon high expectations coupled with high support and forged with trusting relationships are crucial to closing the Latino achievement gap.
        Because what matters most to us at the end of the day is whether or not we are preparing our students both academically and personally to navigate the post-secondary world in order to ultimately earn a degree. That is true progress and one more step toward closing the achievement gap.
       

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