Huntington Park High School Principal Raul Correa outlines accomplishments at his school to the Huntington Park City Council Aug. 2 with dozens of parents and students backing him up in the City Council chambers. (Photo by Arnold Adler)
Story Created:
Aug 12, 2010 at 11:32 AM PST
Story Updated:
Aug 12, 2010 at 11:32 AM PST
HUNTINGTON PARK — Student achievement is improving at Huntington Park High in the Los Angeles Unified School District as officials work to get off the district’s focus list of schools that need extra help, according to Principal Raul Correa in comments before the City Council Aug. 2.
“I think we will show a great [scholastic] improvement when the state’s Academic Performance Index comes out in August,” said Correa, referring to results of tests given to students last spring.
API rules require a school to improve its score by at least 10 percent a year with a goal of 800 and a top score of 1,000. Huntington Park High School graduate Yolie Flores, a member of the LAUSD Board of Education, told city officials July 19 she feared the school would not succeed based on past improvements of just five percent a year and with an API score of 568 in 2009.
Flores and Correa agree that this year’s results will be instrumental in whether the school gets out of the Public Schools Choice program, initiated on the board by Flores.
Some 18 groups including charter schools, organizations composed of teacher union members and individuals have applied to take over and improve some of the failing schools in the district.
Superintendent Ramon Cortines will make a recommendation in December and board action is expected in February 2011 on Public Schools Choice options.
Asked to appear before the City Council by Councilwoman Ofelia Hernandez, Correa sought to counter some of Flores’ comments and criticism of the school.
“Placement in the Public Schools Choice program was a great opportunity for us to put together a plan to improve student results,” Correa said. “We have taken steps to change Huntington Park High School . We are not afraid to take risks.”
Correa said the school has made improvements in several areas in the past year since the school was placed on the Public Schools Choice list.
He said the school’s graduation rate this year was 66 percent and “we expect to do better in the future.”
He said the school has added several advance programs in partnership with community colleges and said students are increasing their attendance at University of California campuses.
“In 2006, 18 of our students went to a UC [school],” he said. “It was 21 in 2007, 41 in 2008 and 44 in 2009. I am very proud that our students are going to the big colleges," he said.
Correa credited after-school programs like those offered by the Woodcraft Rangers, a private, nonprofit organization, with keeping students in school.
To improve the school, officials are thinking small.
“For better results we need to become smaller," he said, referring to academic programs focusing on smaller groups of students.
One such “school within a school” program is the Libra Academy.
Located on the Huntington Park High School campus, Libra is autonomous from the district with its own administration and teachers. The 120 students, who started the program last fall with six teachers, are averaging C or better grades, administrators said.
“We are creating change to improve student results,” Correa said. “We have a long tradition of honor and pride.”
RSS Feeds 
