August 15, 2013 – Daily Brief

Fare thee well Jason. Once you're done, Jeff and I will haze, er induct you into the SCV CSUN Master's Degree Alumni Chapter. Dues are $0.18/year. And theres a flyer.

SCVi does focus on the whole student- that is not spin. Their philosophy of not teaching to the test has been in place from day one. We did not place our son there because we wanted great STAR testing scores. We wanted our kid to like learning- not to have his curiosity and creativity driven out of him with worksheets and bubble-in answers. We NEVER considered our neighborhood school crummy- in fact our other child went there. Problem was this kid was floundering in that same neighborhood school. We needed a different approach- and we got it and could not be happier. That school made my kid like going to school again- enjoy learning- he recognizes that he is smart and capable. No more sitting right next to the teacher, having SST meetings, tutoring sessions... tears. We all learn differently, Jeff. I sincerely hope that your kid fits right in at your local public school. Not all kids do. And I resent your swipes at SCVi's attempts to create a place for those that don't.

From their website: "As a publicly funded school, we are required to do STAR testing, as any other public school, but we will not teach to the test. We believe that we can teach our children to be critical thinkers and learners, which will enable them to do well on the tests." Based on the results, it seems that it would be more accurate to say that teaching children to be critical thinkers and learners leads to average test scores. I fully appreciate that most of life isn't about test-taking and scores, but I don't think the people behind STAR testing and the like have anything but good intentions. The SAT, ACT, GRE, LSAT, MCAT, bar exams, professional certificate exams, etc... shape college and career options based solely on inking-in bubbles and short written answers. Why not teach test-taking early?

4eyedsue: I think your kid liked going to school wherever. It is you that wants him at a charter.

I think you have no idea what our life was like with that child before charter. I want my child to be successful and happy in school- charter or no charter.

I'll tread lightly here, because I was once in the same place as the hundreds of parents who chose to enroll their children at SCVi. But I'm troubled by the identical excuse being offered by the school year after year as the numbers get worse. At some point, we have a real problem. Most articles approach the STAR test results in polite language, but looking at their elementary scores, it's the lowest-scoring school in the valley. And the percentage of students scoring Basic, Below Basic and Far Below Basic is staggering. The only exception that I can find is in the English test, they have a higher % of students scoring proficient or above than Mint Canyon (though SCVi's average score is lower), but once you exclude the kids who don't speak English, SCVi is in last place again. If you compare these results from year to year, there's a grade-level spike here and there but the overall trend is downward. SCVi doesn't teach to the test as much as other schools, but they do a fair amount of STAR prep, too. Plus, with math, a lot of questions are objective and straightforward. 22% of elementary (2-6) students at SCVi are Below Basic or Far Below Basic in Math. Compare that to 8.2% in Saugus, 5% In Newhall and 12% in Sulphur Springs.

Yeah, to be honest, I'm actually concerned about the school's future. It's too bad. There are so many great things to be said about the school, and so many areas of concern. Will declining test scores be their ultimate undoing? To their credit, they are incredibly responsive and continue to assess their program and bring in whatever resources are necessary. Is that good enough? I don't know. I pulled my oldest this year, which pained me, but it's what I felt was right and we thankfully found something else that will hopefully prove to be a good fit (had that not been an option, she would be homeschooling this year). For my middle schooler, I'm willing to overlook some academic concerns for the greater good. We supplement at home for those subjects I feel are lacking, and I feel confident that the leadership, team-building, and social/emotional environment are more important for her at this time in her development (as I did with my older daughter), though I expect she'll move elsewhere for her high school experience as well. I also wonder if the relaxed attitude toward testing lends itself to terrible scores. My middle schooler received perfect math scores for several years, advanced for the last two years...and just shy of below basic this year. Clearly she was having an off day, or made a mistake on her bubble sheet, or just didn't care. Maybe she took that whole 'Whatever...its just some test they make you take' thing a bit too literally? After the shock and (admittedly) disappointment of her math scores, we've been supplementing here at home the last few weeks before school resumes, and she's doing quite well...using a COC Math060 (Elementary Algebra) book. I'm thinking her STAR scores for last year aren't a great indicator of her ability, lol. By the by, I'm surprised that you felt the school did STAR test prep. They've done more testing this year than in any years past (they started doing MAPS assessments), but before this year I didn't feel like that was part of the culture at all. Sure we'd get the email during testing season that the kids should have a good breakfast, get a good nights sleep, and not miss school on those days, but I didn't ever see prep come home with my kids, and never heard about them doing it in class. I know your guys are younger than mine (I was one of their Lego Robotics coaches...if you remember me, lol), but we've experienced 4th-8th grade at SCVi and that hasn't been our experience at all.

I personally know a few parents that have put their academically sub-par child into SCVi with very good results. In short, the kids didn't fit into the public school box. In two cases, the siblings remained in public school. Think of taking a "D" student and making them a "B-" student. It's improvement, to be sure, but still... short of the bar set by SCV's fine public schools. If this is the case, it's quite possible that charters have actually raised the API scores of surrounding schools by absorbing those underperforming kids. Sort of the inverse of what is typical of charter schools -- brain drain. I know what they say about anecdotes and data, but the shoe is beginning to fit.

Interesting hunch. IIRC, a few years ago, the LA Times somehow scored teachers in the LAUSD by tracking the year-to-year performance of students. I wonder if there's a way to do the same with the available datasets.

The word you're looking for is "mist." Unless the people at the conservatory are looking to purchase an early 90s computer game for the gibbons.

What's odd is that everything about the Sleazy McBrotrux vibe that Tilted Kilt has kind of doesn't match everything else about what Town Center Drive is (or is supposed to be).

Am I the only one who feels that STAR testing is a joke? Some kids just do not test well-test anxiety,etc. While others are tested on it and they are severely mentally impaired, they have to take it and it is a total waste of our money. They test my multi-handicapped son each year and put a lot of time into it. It is a waste. I can see that it serves it person for those who are higher functioning but in my son's case forget it.

Jeff, I always hated those people who would point out all the things I didn't yet know about parenting when my kids were babies. But I can't help but say talk to me when your kid is in school and that perfect SCV public education isn't the best choice for him. I'm willing to bet you, too, will do whatever it takes to ensure your child experiences a positive learning environment that inspires lifelong learning, wherever that may be.

Word. So much. SCVi had a screening of an edudocumentary a few years ago, and a former Hart board member was in attendance. Following the screening there was a discussion period and he said that when raising his own (now adult) children in the HSD the first several kids fit perfectly in the mold. The system was perfect for them, and they were perfect for the system. The system was thus perfect, right? Until, of course, he got to the kid who didn't fit the system. The one who struggled everyday to be successful in a system that clearly was incompatible with his learning needs, and was emphatically resistant to offering any sort of flexibility, despite the teen's own exhaustive efforts to find a middle ground. It happens. Not every kid fits the mold. We let most of those kids fail. What is so terrible about providing them a place where they can be successful? Sure, that success might not translate to test scores, but there are plenty of brilliant minds who have struggled with traditional academic learning and we don't stand around discounting their brilliance because of it.

evitalc31 and any other parent, you can opt your child out of the standardized tests by writing a letter to the principal. Little known fact that schools cannot tell you, but they don't mind opting kids out especially if they perform below the mean. Does anyone like the standardized testing? It's time consuming, a huge industry for the testing companies, some kids don't perform well on tests, the tests don't accurately measure what kids know or what schools are teaching them, and teachers don't like being evaluated based on test results. So what's the answer? No tests, or developing different tests? The CTA needs to be open to some sort of objective standard for teacher evaluation. Parents need to speak up to their legislators and policymakers and demand something else.

I know about the opt out option actually. I finally did it for the first time this year. I mean what does it do for my son? Nothing. CTA does need to be more open about some sort of teacher evaluation process. There are many teachers who do not measure up and we need to weed them out. Once they get tenure we feel stuck.

I don't have kids, but it is certainly up to parents that if there is a choice of schools out there then to pick what they feel is best for their child. Obviously these are parents that care about the education of their child and not looking for the easy solution. Its easy for everyone to judge (and especially easy those on this site based on the above). It would be nice if all this focus could be instead on those parents who don't prepare their students for school. My friend is a kindergarten teacher and this year she faced a class of students ranging from knowing some letters and numbers to multiple others not even knowing how to hold a crayon or pencil much less do anything with it.

I know what you are saying. We would have to take a look if these parents are economically challenged or stressed in another way.

Regarding home prices, it's funny how these glowing reports conveniently leave out the new-new ghost inventory. As of this spring, the foreclosure market essentially came to a screeching halt. The OCC released some guidance regarding the foreclosure process, and with the exception of BofA, all of the banks halted all foreclosures while they made corrections to their system to be in compliance. BofA proudly touted that they would not be halting their foreclosure program....but that was a non-issue as BofA has basically gone out of the mortgage holding business. Being the stellar example of corporate America that they are, they're downsizing their mortgage holding business to improve their capital level...or avoid the terms of predatory lending settlements which required that they be a willing participant to mortgage relief and neighborhood stabilization programs. Semantics, I suppose. They're still servicing loans that are backed by others (Fannie, Freddie), but mortgages under their own umbrella have been sold, including those that were in default. They're now with other lenders, where the foreclosure process will begin anew. So, let's not pretend that 2013 was the year the market was so stellar that default was all but extinct. Yes, prices are on the rise. Sure, some of that may be from market stabilization. Let's not ignore, though, the mess waiting in the background.

Of the 8 kids I know that switched over to SCVi when it opened, 6 were back at the public school within 2 years. 4 of those kids had to have outside tutoring to catch them up to grade level.

Excuse me SCVi does deal with the non English speaking. My step daughter came here from Iarael speaking very little English and reading even less. They strived to help her. And as for the test scores $&@)-/@ on you. My son came for the regular "better" public schools with high test scores. He was reading below grade level and the so called intervention classes they made him take didn't help. Yet they kept pushing him through the system and he was retaining nothing. He hated school and it was a fight to get him to go. The teachers were so over whelmed that they were burnt out and he slipped through the cracks. When I voiced my concern I was ignored. After one year in SCVi, which focuses on the child not the test, my son is reading a grade and 1/2 higher than his grade level, lives going to school and is retains almost everything he is taught. They are teaching my kids to how to learn and to deal with real life problems. To critically think not just regurgitate. My daughter is no longer board in class. And my step daughter even though her first language is hebrew actually was able to learn as well. The teachers actually have time to work with each child and actually care because their job is not on the line because of test scores. Maybe as parents and tax payers of the regular public school system you should ask yourself why your kids are not being prepared for college and real life. Why your kids are just being taught to pass a test. Why as a parent your concerns do not matter and are not addressed with your school system. I know I did, and that is why my kids now go to SCVi.