Whittier Elementary will get money to raise test scores

Jessica Garrison

COSTA MESA -- Whittier Elementary School will get hundreds of

thousands of additional state dollars to raise test scores over the next

two years. But if scores do not go up, the school faces a state takeover.

Whittier, which posted substantial gains on its Stanford-9 test scores

this year but still lags far below national averages, is one of 430

schools in the state -- and five in Orange County -- to be accepted into

a new state intervention program this week. The program wields the

double-edged sword of extra funding along with dire consequences if

improvement does not result.

“We are thrilled,” said Whittier Principal Sharon Blakely. She said

two other Newport-Mesa schools, Wilson Elementary and TeWinkle Middle

School, were among some 1,600 schools across the state to apply for

special grants, but only Whittier was picked.

Pam Coughlin, Wilson’s principal, said she had no information about

the grants, and TeWinkle Principal Sharon Fry could not be reached for

comment.

Many schools across Orange County did not apply for the extra funds,

out of fear of what would happen if the money didn’t lead to improvement,

Blakely said.

But she said she believes the risk is worth it.

“I’m not thinking about sanctions,” Blakely said. “We don’t see it as a

negative. We see it as a positive.”

Nearly 95% of students at Whittier are not native English speakers,

and many come from poor families with parents working two or more jobs to

make ends meet.

In other words, Blakely said, demographically her school is full of

children who fit the profile of students who typically do not perform

well on standardized tests or achieve in school.

She said that she and her staff are determined to do everything they

can to change that.

Teachers and administrators already have a number of programs -- from

intensive preschool that readies children for kindergarten to classes

that teach limited-English parents how to help children with their

homework -- designed to help students overcome their educational

difficulties.

“This just gives us additional resources,” Blakely said.

Another plus of the program, she said, is that it will give principals

on the front lines the chance to make the state aware of the needs of

poor students who do not speak English.

And ultimately, Blakely said, test scores are not the point -- helping

students is.

“We’re not about raising test scores,” she said. “We’re about

educating children, and we’re going to concentrate on insuring that ...

and the test scores will then rise.”