Suggestions for troubled school

WESTSIDE — More parents in the classroom. Fewer students in the classroom. Parent training, staff meetings, a new curriculum for English-learners, and protection for an unscheduled afternoon recess.

Those were among the suggestions made Wednesday evening at Wilson Elementary School, which became the first school in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District this year to hold a public hearing on how to boost its test scores.

On a cold, dimly lighted street in one of Costa Mesa’s poorest neighborhoods, more than 50 parents, teachers, school board members and administrators gathered in the multipurpose room to offer their personal takes on how to improve Wilson — and how not to improve it. The school must take corrective action this year or face federal sanctions, but some speakers argued that it was best to maintain the status quo.

“I think we’re getting the most bang for our buck with the system we currently have in place,” said kindergarten teacher Jenny Dory.

Wilson is one of three schools in Newport-Mesa, along with Pomona Elementary School and TeWinkle Middle School, on year three of the government’s Program Improvement list. The list, created under the No Child Left Behind Act, identifies schools that struggle on standardized tests.

When a school enters year three, it must choose at least one corrective action from a list provided by the government. A seven-member review panel — consisting of Newport-Mesa teachers, parents and outside consultants — visited Wilson, Pomona and TeWinkle during the fall and assembled a draft report. The panel recommended that Wilson implement a new English-learner curriculum and extend the kindergarten school day.

The first item had little opposition, since Newport-Mesa plans to update its English-learner materials at every school this year. Several speakers, however, took issue with extending the school day and criticized some of the other comments in the draft report.

Teacher Mary Duffy defended the school’s unscheduled afternoon recess, saying it gave students a needed break. Her colleague Cara Boyd noted that Wilson had extended its kindergarten day two years ago and that results had yet to come in.

“Those students haven’t yet been tested, so I think it’s important to consider that what we’re doing now may be working for the kids,” she said.

Parents, who spoke mostly through a Spanish translator, asked the panel to consider cutting class sizes in the upper grades and tightening discipline. Several defended the Accelerated Reader program, in which students take tests on books they’ve finished. The draft report claimed that some teachers were using the program during minutes intended for language instruction.

Pomona is set to have its hearing on Wednesday, with TeWinkle following on Thursday. After the hearings, the panel plans to submit a revised report to the district before the school board votes on the matter in February.